Hikigaya Hachiman's Path to Reformation
by Ivanov117
Summary: [AU] [Slightly OOC] It was the school break before his first year in Sobou High and Hikigaya Hachiman was deep in thought. He realized that as of now, he was pretty pathetic and led a bland life. So, he decided that he is going to change that.
1. The mirror of his Self is altered

Hello everyone! Ivanov117 here! I've been writing fics for quite year or two, but this is the first time I uploaded mine! After watching Masamune-kun's Revenge, I was inspired to write this fic of mine. The events in the story take place just after Hachiman's Middle School days, thus he is still not he cynical nihilist we know and love. In the Light Novel, Hachiman changed his view on life and society on his first year at Sobou High, and the events of the Anime and Light Novel begin on his second year at Sobou High. That's just a head's up if you're wondering why he is a bit OOC.

This story is from Hikigaya's POV

 _*Sample*_ \- Reader's thoughts.

* * *

Middle School

Those very words give all of us a feeling of nostalgia, and fill us with a lost happiness of being a child and not caring for anything in the world.

Well, except your studies that is.

The usual things middle schoolers would do, like going to the mall with your friends to hang out and enforce the bonds of friendship that bind you all together, gossiping among yourselves about your crushes, and teasing the guy when his crush would pass by and studying together to prepare for the upcoming exams or quiz, but instead of doing so, they would end up just lazying around and look for something fun to do instead of studying. And of course, confessing to someone in a very cliche way under a tree after school because you hold superficial feelings to that person, the events after the said confession is up to coincidence, would the person on the receiving end accept those feelings of affection or outright deny them? Seriously, that is so cliché and overused that I can smell it from another continent.

But that was not for me.

You see, my middle school days were…hmm how to put it.

I was quite cringe-worthy and I seriously hate myself back then. You see, I was always trying to _fit in_ with the cool kids. I would always follow them around, preferably behind them until they acknowledge my existence and invite me into their group, but that never happened, feels bad man...

And me having my edgy and chunnibyou days, where I would dress up from the things I could find at home and look like a superhero or something. I do remember keeping a notebook filled with secret forbidden incantations that I copied from the internet.

Finally, Hikigaya Hachiman, confessing to a girl, Orimoto Kaori of all people, just because she was nice to him! In my delusion, I mistook her kindness for affection and took a VERY wrong step forward. I then realized that she was just being nice to everyone, including me. In other words, she was the _nice girl_ in every class. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike nice girls, but ever since that day, I always treat them with suspicion and try to read between the lines when they speak to me.

In fact, if you put me on the cringe meter back then, I would probably be at the top of the list until the end of the human race. Including my days of being a chunnibyou and being a loner, no one can unseat me from my unholy throne!

Wait am I taking pride in this?

Ugh, remembering it gives me the chills.

 _*But Hikigaya! We thought you were going to improve yourself? *_ Yes, yes, I'm getting to it so stop your whining, good grief.

As I said earlier, I vow to improve myself on _all_ of my attributes to erase my dark past! (chunnibyou days)

Today was the first day of the following weeks leading to my first year in Sobou High. I'm not one to boast, but I am quite smart and confident of my academic skills, well except math, but that's one of the things I'm going to level up on!

Hmm, where to begin I wonder?

Reputation, looks, academics and experience.

These are the YONKOU that I plan to defeat.

My reputation back in middle school was what you expect. My nicknames back then were, _that guy, The guy who has no friends, the guy who is always alone, Hikkifrog-kun, Hikkigerma-kun_ and, the most well-known of all in the student body, _the guy who confessed to Orimoto_.

Due to me being a loner and being the butt of jokes in my class, even I am appalled my myself. As expected, my reputation was at the lowest of the school hierarchy.

I remember that time when they made a game out of me. Hikkigerma tag as they call it, when I touch them they have the Hikkigerms and according to the rules of the game, Hikkigerms can even penetrate through the barriers erected by those who haven't been infected yet. Wow my germs must be pretty badass. But wait, what's the point of incorporating those barrier mechanics into the game if Hikkigerms can get through them anyway!?

Well, let's put an end to that.

Looks…well, I'm not the ugliest guy in my class, but neither have I been called good-looking. Maybe I am the most average looking guy that you might mistake me for a background character in a twelve-episode anime series? Am I really that generic looking? Not sure if I can call my looks a curse or a blessing…

Academics, now this is where I'm good at!

My academics are quite high and I was always at the top of my class, whenever the grades are posted in the bulletin board with our corresponding student ID number, I'm always the first to get there before anyone else.

Maybe it's the fact that I give off the trashiest laugh and make the smuggest face I make that people tend to avoid me when I'm doing it.

 _"Ugh THAT guy is doing that face again in front of the board, omg so gross."_

 _"I know right, what a gross creep! "_

 _"Yeah, he's so creepy that he's gross! "_

Hol up, those last two were just repeating each other. Filthy peasants! Don't breathe in my direction unless you get to my level!

And finally, Experience!

Dear reader, you might be asking _"Huh? Experience? What are you talking about? You're so gross ewww…"_

Mongrels!

Before a lowly being like me rises to surpass what was past received as impossible, that lowly being must first learn the GOLDEN EXPERIENCE!

This GOLD EXPERIENCE, pertains to the experiences and social interactions I need to attend to in order to defeat the YONKOU and cover up my humiliating past self! I need to master social interactions, proper body physique, good reputation and academic performance!

Before I can continue my monologues, I was interrupted by a soft yawn coming from the stairs leading to our bedrooms.

Komachi soon came to view, her looking like a bird's nest and her mouth still showing signs of drool. She stretched a bit and made contact with me.

"Oh, onii-chan, you're up early."

Come to think of it, why am I up early anyway?

I looked at the time and it was still 6:30, maybe I got too excited with my influx of ideas last night that I woke up today feeling restless and unable to sleep? I haven't even taken my cup of coffee yet.

"Morning, just felt like waking up early today that's all, oh and can you get a cup of coffee please?"

Komachi responded with an energetic "Haiii onii-chan!" and made a beeline to the kitchen.

I closed my eyes to think on what I should do but I heard Komachi's voice from the kitchen.

"Onii-chan!"

"Yes?" I replied to her without opening my eyes.

"Today's the start of your break, right?"

"Yes."

"You don't have any friends so you don't have anything to do this summer except laze around the house waiting for school, right?"

"…Yes…?" Ok, what the heck was with that last part? You lose some points, silly imouto!

"Let's go shopping later!"

"Sure."

"Agreeing immediately?!" Komachi exclaimed in a surprised voice. Well, I agree, even I am surprised at my sudden decision, but I consider this as one of the steps where I can improve myself. Lazing around during summer break will not be beneficial to me, so I should at least go outside and spend time with her or get a part-time job or something.

Actually, that last part was pretty appealing.

It's quite simple, part-time job = money

For a bookworm such as myself, having money is always a good thing for me to fuel my craving of books and other necessities. A sword needs a whetstone to always keep sharp, and a mind needs books filled with knowledge to be the same.

I heard Komachi's steps coming towards me but I kept my eyes closed. But then I heard a "umph!" and a shadow came covered me.

In the split second that I opened my eyes, I registered that:

A. Komachi jumped from some distance and trajectory was aiming at my area.

B. She had a wicked grin and probably planned this

C. Judging from the time I started analyzing her actions, I have about a few miliseconds before she hits-

Her body crashed into mine, which caused me to go _ouch._ As I lay in a daze from the impact, the perpetrator began snuggling herself next to me and using my shoulder as a pillow. After snuggling her face in my neck, she looked up and gave me a cheeky grin.

"Onii-chan is going out with me huh?" She asked

"Yes I am."

"Hmm, what should we do?"

In that instant, numerous scenarios played simultaneously in my head as I thought of a proper response.

Social norms state that in occasions such as this, the male must take the lead.

She already suggested shopping so it's already included. I'll assume that we'll be on our way to the mall at 9:00, the commute to there would take 10-25 minutes and the walk to the mall itself is around 10-15 minutes. Upon entering the mall I'll take into account that we might not be shopping exclusively for clothes, so I should take extra money just in case. The shopping would take at around 1-2 hours and after that we would look for somewhere to have lunch and that would take about 40 minutes. After lunch, we might watch a movie that lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and 50 minutes. When the movies end, Komachi might want to take a snack at a café or something, then we would either resume some last-minute shopping, kill time at the café or just walk around.

Wow, am I getting carried away, I wonder?

…

…

..

Nah.

I turned to her, our faces so close I could count the hair on her eyelashes, and take a deep breath.

"Well if we are shopping then I would take extra money in case we find something we like that's not just apparel. Also keep an eye out for stores on sale, oh and if you see something you like in a store, look around the others stores for a similar item and take cheapest one among your findings. Don't forget to take some extra money. After shopping we would be hungry, so let's go grab something to eat that's not too heavy because it might give us a stomachache, grilled fish and squid sounds good with a side of salad or curry is fine. I was thinking a movie after lunch sounds agreeable, but I haven't heard if you want that so that's still up for debate. Oh, and don't wear clothes that are too revealing or I will personally make you wear my shirts instead, you know that a lot of them are ugly."

After saying my part, Komachi had her mouth agape looking at me with wide eyes. After I stared back at her for a few seconds, she snapped out of her trance and looked down.

"I-I see, w-well I'm looking forward to it then…" Hmm, her ears were red, then that must mean she is blushing right now.

Fufufu, now's my chance to tease her!

"Fufufu, what's this? My imouto is flustered? Don't tell me you were looking forward to this, THAT much." I said and grinned at her while poking her cheek.

She turned to me, and true enough her face was a red mess.

"H-Huh?! No! That's not what I meant!" She quickly said while denying it fervently.

I gave her the best shit eating grin on my face and continued to do my teasing assault.

"Fufufu, deny it all you want Komachi-chan, you can't deny that fact that you were looking forward to a _date_ with your onii-chan! Good grief little sisters these days…" I said the last part in a manner that made me sound like I lost faith in humanity.

While she continued to pout, she finally made a response.

"Mou onii-chan stop teasing me huhuhu…" She said as she faked crying while covering and wiping her eyes. Hey, I can see that you're sneaking glances at me you know?

Putting an end to my teasing, closed my eyes and moved my hand to her head as I patted her. She said nothing and continued to lay beside me. Our moment of peace was stopped when we heard the electric water heater make a sound that said that it already finished boiling the water.

"Oh, it's done already." She made a move to stand up but I held her close

"Komachi-chan don't go yet, you're so warm and your onii-chan is feeling cold." It was true though, I am feeling a bit cold since I was just hanging around in the living room without and blankets to keep me warm.

She giggled and escaped my grasp. "Hehehe, onii-chan you're such a sis-con." As she disappeared into the kitchen, I thought that I should get up too.

I got up from the sofa, but in the process my legs hit a few books under the coffee tables and fell to the carpet. Picking up the books, I saw my dad's old college books about math, science and literature. Come to think of it, my dad is an accountant, so he should be good at math huh? I also saw a bunch of his awards and medals back when he was still a student.

Hmm, I inherited my dad's strongpoint at academics huh. Also, his dead fish eyes are on me too, albeit mine is a lot worse than his, well that's what my mom said anyway.

Speaking of inherited academics, Komachi is an airhead, or at least turning into one, THAT I can be sure of. If this keeps up, she will tarnish the good name of the Hikigaya household! If that should come to pass, I will personally give her the sword to commit seppuku for her to clean our house's name!

Well, Komachi has always been the sociable type unlike me, so it's understandable that she may set aside a lot of her time to spend time with her friends. I didn't have any friends so all I did was study and read books.

Hmm, if having no friends gives you time to study, then it's safe to assume that having a lot of friends gives you less time to study. Therefore, having no friends=high grades while having lots of friends=low grades! But wait! My argument fails to touch on the existence of those people who have many friends, while having high grades! People like them should be nerfed, seriously. God can you hear me?

Putting an end to my inner thoughts, I began to walk to the kitchen to indulge into the coffee that my beloved little sister made for me. Komchi-chan, you just scored a lot of onii-chan points this morning! As I made my way to the chair to sit down, I heard steps coming down form upstairs, judging from the footfalls, it was probably from my dad.

Just like Komachi, I heard my dad make a rather loud yawn and immediately did stretches.

Now I tell you, my old man is not one of those stereotypical dads that have little hair and have large bellies that drank sake until they wear in a coma. My father was of medium build and had a height of about 5'9, he still had a full head of hair but I can see one or two strands of white hair, that's understandable, he's not THAT old for heaven's sake. My mom told me that I looked a bit like him and she added that my eyes were worse than his own. Thanks mom I really needed that. She added that when I smiled, and that I did very seldom, I looked like her, so I had that going for me, which is nice.

Anyway, my dad greeted us good morning and excused himself to the bathroom.

Holding her hot cup of coffee, Komachi softly blew on it to cool it down and she slowly began to drink. I did the same, but when I tasted mine it was not sweet enough for my taste. I probably made a funny face because Komachi tilted her head and gave me a look that said "What's wrong onii-chan?"

"…It's not sweet enough." I answered her unsaid question.

"Huh?! But I put a lot of sugar in it!" she said surprised.

"Well it's not sweet enough for your onii-chan my silly imouto." She pouted and as I poked her cheek.

I got up and went to the cabinet where we store our condiments, but as I opened the drawer, we were apparently out of stock.

"Komachi, we're out of sugar and cream." I called out to her.

"I'll go buy some from the store right now!" Komachi said energetically

Just as I came back I saw my dad on the table with a cup of tea on hand and his phone on the other, as I leaned in I saw him looking at international and local news.

"Morning dad."

"Morning son."

"Morning dad!"

"Good Morning Komachi."

As we silently drank our morning beverage, both of us basking in the comfortable silence, a bit less for me because mine had too little sugar and cream, Komachi got up and declared that she will go to the store to buy some sugar and cream.

However, before she can take a step to have a change of clothes, my father spoke up.

"Let your brother do it."

Before Komachi could protest, I immediately got up, let your onii-chan handle this, Komachi!

"Ok, give me a few yen and I'll be on my way." I wanted to go for a morning jog anyway, so why not do it now while on my way to the convenience store?

My dad gave me a few bills and I went to the door to get a change of shoes. However, as I was about to leave our humble abode, I heard a voice from behind.

"Onii-chan!" As I turned around, Komachi planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Be careful on your way to the store and stay away from those pretty girls wearing skimpy clothes to get the attention of young virgin boys like you and lonely husbands! They are scams and be careful not to get carried away or you'll fall into their trap! They are out to get your wallet!" Ok I understand the safety part, but what was with that last one? I heard a fit of coughing from dad and as I craned my head to get a better look, he was spacing out while staring at his wallet.

So, my old man was a victim of those scams too, huh.

I bid Komachi farewell and she closed the door behind me.

Ah, finally alone to my thoughts. Doing a bit of stretching here and there and adjusting my shoes, I began my morning jog.

I estimated that with my current pace which I can maintain for about 10 minutes, I can reach the store in about 15.

The jog to the store was uneventful.

The occasional kind grandma that would greet me along the way.

A guy my age, commuting to go to work, and by work I mean his part time job.

The corporate slaves that had to wake up early to go to work today.

A police car patrolling the streets, keeping the local community feel safe and protected.

The neighborhood cats sleeping under the shade of the trees.

The fellow jogger accompanied by his dog. Oh my, what a cute golden retriever!

Jeez I hope I don't meet any of my classmates from my middle-school, that would surely ruin my mood. Not that I can remember their names, but I can remember their faces. I have a bad habit of forgetting people's names you see...

As I reached the limits of my stamina, which was kind of low, I slowed down and took a seat on a nearby bench on our local playground to catch my breath for a minute or two. Breathing heavily, I observed a group of toddlers that were playing on the playground, with them running around the place, there were about 5 of them playing.

Ah being a toddler must be nice. Just playing around all day and not worrying about the future, they were at the peak of what a child should experience. When me and Komachi were still kids, we used to play House, she would pretend to be the wife and me the husband and every time I arrived "home" from "work" she would greet me lead me to the dining room to get me my meal that she cooked for me. And me, being the dutiful and loving husband, would thank her will all my heart as I indulge into my dinner wholeheartedly.

Of course, the "food" that she cooked was actually just plastic toys, so we couldn't eat them… If we did, we would choke and probably sent to the hospital.

Oh, and I would make a makeshift fortress in the living room made of blankets and pillows, and I would name it "The Fortress of Boys.". From the name itself, it was for boys, and Komachi was not allowed to enter because she was a girl. Upon she realized I refused to let her enter my fortress, she cried and bawled her eyes out. My onii-chan instincts kicking in when I saw her in distress, I immediately hugged her and allowed her entry into my fortress.

In the end, "The Fortress of Boys." had to be renamed, and it became "Hachi-kun and Komachi-chan's Fortress!" We even scribbled it on a piece of paper and stuck it on a makeshift flag.

Ah those memories, it gave me a nostalgic smile.

I got up and resumed my jog, albeit at a slower pace.

With the light rays of the sun of my face, it felt good that it wasn't still as hot as it is in the afternoon. Also, with still few people around, you have the entire street yo yourself.

Hmm, jogging in the morning sounds appealing to me, maybe I'll make this a morning routine?

With the convenience store in sight, I picked up my pace and entered the small shop. There were only a small amount of people since it's still early and I can see that most of them dropped by to get a cup of coffee.

I went to the isle and began looking for sugar and cream, with my rotten eyes scanning every nook and cranny. Ah! There it is! And it's the last pair too! I moved my hand to reach for it but I was startled when my hand caressed the hand of a person who thought the same.

I immediately retracted my hand and the person did the same and we faced each other. Turns out, it was actually a girl, and she was pretty. She had long flowing blue hair tied in a ponytail and she was wearing a plain red shirt and blue jogging pants. Her eyes were sharp and her facial features too, but still held a feminine charm to it. She was quite tall for a girl, only a few inches shorter than me.

Realizing we exchanged no words to each other, I decided to initiate.

"Ah, I'm sorry, you can have the sugar and cream." I offered her. _Eww Hikigaya being a creep and a flirt to a girl you just met mere seconds ago!_ Shut up, I am simply fulfilling my obligation as a gentleman, because if my mom found out I was not acting in a gentleman-like manner, she would disown me and kick me out our household.

"No, it's ok. You were the first one to reach for it anyway." She replied back.

Oh, playing this game huh? Hmm…

I reached for the sugar and cream and I felt her eyes follow me hands. Before she can do anything, a softly nudged the items into her hand, without touching her hand of course, that would be totally creepy.

"Please, I insist." Haha! With her hands occupied and filled with my heartfelt offering, it would be rude to decline! This technique is used by those people in the mall who wear corporate attire offering things and would follow you around. Thanks to my highly attuned eyes of observation, I learned their ways and would avoid them at every opportunity.

The girl was surprised of my act, and I was expecting her to push back the items into my hand, but thankfully, she didn't, and made a resigned sigh.

"Well ok then, thanks a lot."

"You're welcome."

I gave her a small smile and turned for the exit.

…

…

…

Oh, good Lord, I was cringing so hard I wanted to run away, but that would ruin the cool guy act I made. _Fwoosh_. I mentally made the sound effect as I dramatically turned away from her and replayed the scenario all over again. Ugh, I hope my hands weren't sweaty, my arms were heavy, my knees weak, mom's spag-

Before I can finish a lame Eminem meme, I heard the girl's voice from behind me.

"Hey."

I turned and gave her a questioning look, but before I can, something was flying towards my face.

Oh God it was probably her hand going to slap me for being a creep.

But wait.

The object was not connected to her hand. It was metallic and small, most likely to contain something. Since the girl was coming from the convenience store, it was maybe a beverage or something.

I activated my STAND, which I will not name for now, it gives me the ability to move with quick reflexes!

BAM!

I held the object that the girl threw at me, and, as always, I was right in my first assumption that it was indeed a beverage, but wait! IT's MAXX COFFEE!

I looked at the girl, wanting to give her my thanks, but this time, she spoke first.

"Thank you….?" I assumed she was asking my name to give me a proper thank you. So, I extended my right hand to give a handshake.

"Hikigaya Hachiman."

She did the same with her hand and shook mine, her grip was firm, but not too hard. Sometimes, you can tell a person's personality the instant you shake hands with them. From her handshake, I assume that she was a strong character and will.

"Kawasaki Saki."

Kawasaki-san huh? She had a nice name.

After we retracted our hands she gave me a look that said, " _Let's walk together, I'm assuming you're going back in that direction?"_

I replied with a similar look, _"Yes."_

With that our walk began.

She's a bit of a loner too huh? All loners can communicate with their eyes, or at least give hints without speaking to each other. But from an average person's POV, we look weird doing it.

A couple of moments passed by with us not saying anything, as loners, we respect each other's silence.

"You live in the neighborhood?" She asked breaking the silent atmosphere.

"Yes. What about you?"

Instead of speaking she gave me a nod as I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes, we're walking side by side with a distance between us. So, she lived in the neighborhood too? Maybe her house is near mine?

"I have never seen you before in our neighborhood though." I said.

"I have a part time job." She replied.

This girl continues to impress me!

"I've seen you a few times before, you're always riding when going home from school." She adds.

"Yeah, I can always walk but I like riding my bike faster, plus it's more like a morning exercise." I can say with confidence that my legs were toned because of all my biking. That can be explained when I would pedal back home with all my might with tears in my eyes because I thought I saw a ghost. And the Occasional angry dog or cat that would chase me. And because I was sad because I had no friends in school so I immediately went home to catch my afternoon anime.

She gave me a look that said, _"Ah, that explains it."_ Hmm, where does she go to school, I wonder?

"I'm going to Sobou at the end of summer break, it's my first year of high school there, what about you?" She inquired while giving me a thoughtful look.

Can this girl read my mind or something?!

"Sobou, my first year in high school too." I replied. Wow what a coincidence.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise, and looked to inquire further, but a high-pitched voice stopped her from continuing.

"Saa-chan!"

I turned my head to the direction of the sound and a little girl with blue shoulder length hair came running into us. Wait, she was one of the children I saw playing in the playground when I was on my way to the convenience store earlier.

"Keika be careful!" Kawasaki-san exclaimed with concern in her voice. Hmm, they were most likely sisters, seeing Keika was a complete clone of Kawasaki-san.

As Keika got near us, Kawasaki-san got down to her level so Keika wouldn't have to crane her head to look up.

"Did you have fun at the playground, Keika?" Kawasaki-san asked with a mother-like tone as she began smoothing out her hair with her hand.

"Yep! We played tag today!" She said so cutely, ah she reminded me of Komachi when she was younger.

She then noticed me and gave me a questioning look before asking her sister.

"Saa-chan, who is he?" she pointed her finger at me. Oi, pointing your finger at people, especially at strangers is rude you know?

I wanted to save Kawasaki-san from personally introducing me, so I decided to introduce myself.

"I'm Hikigaya Hachiman. I live in this neighborhood and your sister and I just met a while ago. We'll be going to the same high school at the start of the school year."

Keika's eyes lit up for a moment after I said that.

"Ah you're Saa-chan's friend then!"

"No, we're barely acquainted." I corrected her.

She tilted her head with an imaginary question mark above her.

"Aquiein-ted?" Oh silly, me. I forgot that I was speaking to a toddler. I got down so on here eye-level to pass onto her my knowledge.

"You see, Keika, was it? Acquainted means that you know a person, but not so much that you could say that he is your friend. Look at this like this, level 0 is strangers, level, 1 is an acquaintance, level 3 is a friend and level 4 is a best friend."

She had a thoughtful look before replying.

"Oh! So, then you and Saa-chan are going in the direction of being friends then!" She said so enthusiastically.

I laughed awkwardly and Kawasaki-san did the same.

"Well if you put it that way, yes." Kawasaki-san finally spoke. She finally stood to her full height and held Keika's hand. I did the same and for some reason, Keika was giggling.

"Keika what are you giggling at?" Kawasaki-san asked.

"Hachiman's name sound weird! Hehehe." Oh, so cute, she's giggling while making fun of my name.

"Keika! That's rude! And you shouldn't call him by his first name!"

"I'm sorry Haa-chan!"

"Giving him, a pet name is even worse!"

Kawasaki-san was frantic, so she was a strict follower of the norms of politeness huh.

I decided to settle down the situation.

"It's ok, my mom calls me that so I see no reason why Keika-chan can't call me that too."

Kawasaki-san gave me a look that said _"Are you sure about this?"_ , and I gave her a nod.

"Ok Haa-chan! But you have to call me Kei-chan too!" Well I guess I can agree with that…

"Ok Kei-chan." With a cute face like that, how could I find it in myself to say no?

"But Haa-chan!", she continued. "Does this mean that you're not my friend?" she grabbed the hem of my shirt and looked up to me. Guh! Onii-chan senses tingling! Mus imotou!

"I can be your friend if you want, Kei-chan." I made a small smile as I patted her head.

"Yey!" She let go of Kawasaki-san's hand and skipped ahead happily. I looked and Kawasaki-san and asked, "Should we go?"

She gave a nod and we continued our walk back to our respective homes. Our steps becoming in sync with each other. I noticed that Kawasaki-san has an air of confidence around here. Not to the point of arrogance, but the way she moves gives off the feeling that she believes wholeheartedly in herself. With her head held high, she looks respectable and intimidating, especially with her eyes. Maybe I should copy her… Come to think of it, Kei-chan was really early at the playground huh?

"She likes going to the playground earlier because she gets it all to herself." Kawasaki-san said.

Wait, I didn't even ask her. I think it's safe to say, with the confidence of the accumulated information that I have obtained, that Kawasaki-san can read minds.

"Kei-chan's a morning person huh, when I was a kid, the only reason I got up early was to watch my favorite early weekend anime." I don't know why decided to share my childhood with a person I just met a few minutes ago, but she seems like a decent person, so I guess it's fine.

"Really? My little brother and Keika watches anime too, what do you watch?" She turned to me and asked.

Oh, so she had a little brother too? Must be nice having a lot of siblings. I thought for a bit and properly formulated my reply.

"Hmm, the one I watch is called Prett-"Before I can utter that last part I stopped.

Kami-sama thank you for stopping me from telling Kawasaki-san that I watch an anime aimed at little girls.

"Pardon?" Kawasaki-san asked. Good thing she didn't catch the last part!

"Oh, my bad, I currently don't watch any anime series, but I do watch a WESTERN TV series called PREdestination." I emphasized the WESTERN and PRE-part so when she heard those words, she would associate a show in the west with a title starting with PRE, to get her attention away from PRETTY CURE that's in Japan so I can save myself from the embarrassment.

"Oh, so you watch western TV series? Hmm, you kind of look the part though. You look like a smart guy." Hmm, I know that I should be flattered, but how can you tell someone's intellectual level just from a glance? Do wearing glasses count as looking smart? My teacher once told me that people who wear eyeglasses read a lot and strain their eyes too much, that's what led them to wear glasses in the first place. What part of me makes me look like a 'smart guy' I wonder? Is that one of your powers, Kawasaki-san? Being able to tell if someone is smart or not?

"Oh, thanks I guess, I like to expand my horizons, that's all." No use denying her compliment, I might as well give her something to chew on.

 _*Gross, Hikigaya, stop being such a smartass, you'll look like an arrogant twat.*_

Shut up

Kawasaki-san turned her head forward again, her eyes on Keika.

"Well, Keika likes to watch an anime called… I think it was called, Pretty Cure?"

I felt my heart clench and hurt, like an hand was grasping it.

I felt a thunderbolt went through my spine and jolted every atom in my body.

Something must have shown on my face because when she said it, she immediately noticed it.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a hint of concern.

I have to keep cool! I must not show weakness!

I gave her a pained smile and tapped my leg.

"It's nothing to be worried about. At rare occasions, my leg gets mini-cramps when I'm walking after jogging. It's really painful but it's only for an instant." I was not lying though, it did happen once, but that was back in middle school when a dog chased me and I ran like the wind.

"Well, if you're sure…" She decided to let the matter go and we continued our walk.

Not a few moments passed and she initiated the conversation again. Wow she's more talkative than I expected, my jaw's is already a bit numb from all the talking that I've been doing.

"You're surprisingly good with kids."

"I have a little sister, so that job is a must for us older siblings." She looked amused with my reply, well, I did say that in a cool way, I hope…

"Being an older sibling is hard. We take care of our younger siblings when our parents are away at work, we play with them even if we're already exhausted, we feed them and cook for them when they still can't do it themselves, we clean up the mess they created, but it's all worth it in the end when we see their bright smiles and them looking up to us as their role model. We become their heroes and want to become like us when they get older. That's why we should always be strong for them. And then they will brag with their friends at school saying things like "My onii-chan is the best because he can make a paper jet plane that flies really fast!" or something like "My onii-san is the best cook in the world and your onee-san can't beat her!" and sometimes "Onii-san's Yu Gi Oh! Deck is pretty strong! He told me he's that strongest dueler in his class! I bet your onii-san can't possible defeat him!". It's the small things that sometimes make the biggest impact I suppose…" I ended my part with a small smile forming on my lips. Wow here I got again getting all deep and philosophical.

I realized, however, that the female beside me has ceased speaking and was listening intently of what I was saying, all the while giving me a thoughtful look.

After a few moments of silence, she spoke.

"That was…"

"Creepy?"

"No…"

"Gross?"

"No…?"

"Stupid?"

"No!"

"Edgy?"

"What the-?"

"Hmm, disgustingly creepy and edgy, not to mention that it's stupid and gross…?" Ok, I was at a loss now.

"NO! Let me finish what I'm trying to say, damnit! And how was that edgy?!" she said in a loud voice, but thankfully there were no people around and Kei-chan was busy humming to herself.

She sighed to calm herself down and gave me a look that said, _"I swear if you interrupt me again, I will let you taste my fist…"_ I returned with an _"Ok ok, I won't do it anymore…it was just a joke lol."_

"Like I was saying, that was quite beautiful, Hikigaya-san, it gives you a lot to think about and contemplate on. I knew you looked smart but I didn't expect that you looked into things _that_ deep and meaningful. How does it feel, looking at things at your perspective?"

I immediately said my answer without even a second to spare.

"Sometimes it gives me headaches, trying to dig deeper and all. Looking things with a deeper meaning, even though that person said it had no hidden motives at all. It's useless getting deeper even the true meaning was already shallow and easily seen. The true meaning behind the words said, whether or not the person is telling the truth, how likely that person is to spill secrets, how much can the said person can be pressured to spill the said secrets, what are the things that are threatening his person that prevents him to utter those secrets and if what he says is actually genuine. Words are wind after all, and the truth can always be twisted and morphed, to the point that it looks like an abomination. In the end, words cannot truly convey the full message as intended by the sender to the receiver, and mistakes in understanding is almost always encountered."

Kawasaki-san put her hand into a thinking pose as she thought on what I said, and she giggled.

Oi oi, what's so funny about what I said huuh?

Maybe she thinks I'm funny because I got carried away again? How is that funny anyway? I am sharing my knowledge with you, damnit! Plus, you asked me on the topic so I gave you my wholehearted answer!

"What are you? A detective? Or a modern philosopher? You sure just sounded like one. With what you said, you could pass for one. You have a way with words though."

I gave her a small grin. "Well, it's like a double-edged sword, that I can be sure of."

Hmm what a refreshing conversation, when was the last time I spoke to someone outside my family like this? Oh man my jaw was seriously numb right now…

"Since you mentioned that you have a part time job, do you mind if you can you tell me more about it?" I asked.

Kawasaki-san shrugged before making her reply.

"It's nothing special, just a cashier at a nearby grocery store."

"The big one with the flashy colors?" I recall that place now, it hurt my eyes when I passed by that place, because the lights were a tad bit too bright.

"Yeah that's the one, I told our manager that it's doing more harm than good but she won't listen to an employee."

I made a mental note that Kawasaki-san might dislike her boss because he belittles his employees.

"She sounds…difficult to work with." I carefully said my words

"Sometimes, yeah. But I can't counter the fact that she gets the work done."

"I remember going to that place a few times, but I haven't seen you manning a cashier." I told her.

"I saw you about a week ago, you were in the store buying snacks with a girl…", she said "Pardon me for asking, but was that your girlfriend?"

I don't recall ever going to that place, much less, being with a girl. Maybe she was mistaken? I do consider my looks as quite generic as easily forgettable, to put it simply, quite average to say the least.

Wait, I remember going to that place last week with Komachi. That's understandable I guess. Komachi sometimes get too touchy feely and clingy when we're in public and always likes holding hands with me. From another person's point of view, it's easy to mistake that she's my girlfriend. But of course, that's not the main point there.

"Ah, that was my sister." I said

Kawasaki-san gave me a weird look.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh nothing, I observed that she was, how do I say this, a bit too clingy…?" She said as her voice trailed off.

"That's just Komachi being Komachi."

"I see, so your sister's name is Komachi?"

"Yes."

"She has a cute name."

"And a cute face." I added.

When I looked at Kawasaki-san, she was making a face that was a cross between _"Ohh that was so sweet!"_ and _"Eww that was a bit creepy…"_

"Oh, come on don't look at me like that."

"Well I guess she has a cute face, but for her older brother to say that with pride…" There she goes again with her voice trailing off…

"Just stating facts." I coolly said.

 _*Eww Hikigaya what a sis-con! *_

Shut up!

"So, it's just the two of you?" She asked further.

"Pretty much. What about you?"

"I'm the eldest among our siblings and I have two little brothers and Keika."

"I see." I said, not deciding to inquire any further on the subject, but I did have a question that's been on my mind.

"Excuse me for asking, but can I ask why you selected Sobou as your choice for high school?"

She gave a look that said, _"Why so formal in asking? It's not that a big deal you know."_

Well it's a habit of mine to get really formal during conversations, especially when it's first time meeting a person. A good first expression is a lasting first expression you know…

"Well," she started, "It's a good school to enroll in, seeing that it really stimulates the students as a preparation for college. Plus, you get points when you're looking for a job when your employer see's that you graduated from Sobou High."

Hmm, she had the same thoughts with me.

"Exactly." I said in a way that I'm glad that she share's the same sentiment. She hummed in reply, she looked like she wanted to say more but ultimately decided against it.

We have been talking for a while that I lost myself in our conversation, and I realized that I was already near our house, a few more houses to pass by and I'll be home sweet home. Raising my hand and pointing it at my house, I called Kawasaki-san's attention.

"That's my house over there."

"Mine is just a few more houses from yours, but we cross the road here."

Oh, so our houses were closer than I expected. As I was busy with my thoughts, Kawasaki-san called Kei-chan to her said and held her small had into her larger one.

"Keika, we separate with Hikigaya-san here, we already reached his house."

"Oh, ok…" she sounded sad. Ugh! Onii-chan senses are ringing in alarm and I can't do anything about it! But wait! I can!

We already reached the front of my house and Kawasaki-san was already waiting to give me the proper goodbye as we part ways.

I felt bad for Kei-chan, so I decided to make her feel better.

I got down to get eye-level with her and patted her head.

"Tell you what Kei-chan, I'm free the whole summer and I have a little sister too, you can come over and play anytime you want!"

Kei-chan's eyes lit up and on her face, was the biggest smile she could possibly make. Oh, that pure smile only a child can make.

"Really?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes really."

"Keika, we shouldn't really bother- "before Kawasaki-san could finish saying what she wanted to say, I held up my hand.

"It's fine Kawasaki-san."

She looked like she wanted to argue further but knowing that it would make her little sister sad, she sighed in defeat. Her lips formed a small smile when she saw Keika all happy.

"Well, if it's fine with you…" she finally gave in.

As I was about to stand up to give them a proper fare well. The front door to my house opened to reveal my father already dressed and ready to go to work, I can see Komachi behind him as well.

"Don't forget to clean up the house ok." My father said.

"Yep!" Komachi energetically replied.

"Remember to clean up the dishes after taking your meals."

'Of course!"

"Don't wake your mother yet, she's still pretty tired from work."

"Ok!"

"Remember to feed Kamakura and check our mailbox later for any mail."

"Yes!"

"It might not rain today, so be sure to water the plants or else they will wilt and die."

"Hmm!"

"Help out your brother and don't laze around. Also, don't forget to wake your brother once his afternoon naps get a little bit too long."

"Ok…" Komachi's energy earlier was declining.

After checking his belongings, he was finally about to properly go out, but we were hit in his field of vision.

After registering what was in front of him, he gave a look of surprise.

But not before Komachi gave a startled voice.

"Eeeeehhhh?!" she had a look of surprise and her voice was loud. Hey turn down the volume, will you? It hurts my ears…

She rushed out and stood before us, pointing a finger at me as if I was caught cheating on her. Oi oi stop pointing your finger at me! That's rude you know!

"What's this?! Onii-chan already had a wife and a family without our knowledge?!" Hey what's with the immediate escalation?!

Kawasaki-san had an embarrassed look on her face and Kei-chan looked at the newcomer strangely.

"Haa-chan, who is this girl?"

"She already gave you a pet name?!" Tone it down Komachi and stop with your exaggerated experssions…

"Ah, this is my sister, Komachi." Finally, I can give out a proper introduction. I held out my hand in the direction of Kawasaki-san.

"Komachi, this is Kawasaki-san, we met at the convenience store and she'll be going to Sobou High like me. This is her little sister, Kei-chan."

Komachi finally dropped the ridiculous act and put her hands in front of her and gave a slight bow.

"Ah, nice to meet you, I am Hikigaya Komachi, I'm onii-chan's little sister. And the old man behind us our dad."

Upon being called an _old man_ my father spits out blood and looked like he just received a letter that his best friend was dead.

 _"Old man…"_ After coughing a bit more blood, JK, he finally composed himself. What's with the 360-personality change!?

"Good morning to you two, I would like to properly welcome you but I'm about to be late for work." He said as he looked at his watch.

"Good morning to you as well sir…" Kawasaki-san bowed as my father passed her.

"Good morning and goodbye _old man!_ "

I saw a trail of blood from my father's mouth and a tear from his right eye. Hey it's getting too far you know, my dad is not _that_ old, and it's rude to call someone _old man!_ Oh, right Kei-chan is still a child…

"Keika! That's rude! Apologize right now!" Kawasaki-san exclaimed

"It's alright, Kawasaki-san, was it? She's still a child so it's understandable." My dad said as Kawasaki-san made a bow as a form of apology.

As we bade my father farewell, Komachi, finally taking a good look at Keika, gave a squeal and quickly went over to her.

"Aaaaahh! Kei-chan is so cute!" Komachi exclaimed as she went to Keika and patted her head.

"Onee-san you're pretty cute too!" Keika likewise returned the compliment.

"Kyaa! Thank you Kei-chan! It's been so long since someone told me I was cute, well, outside my family that is. You know when, when I'm about to go out with my friends, I ask onii-chan how I look and he'll say, "Yeah yeah, you're the cutest in the world." And I would be happy! But he would say that with a pure blank expression like he's watching paint dry! It breaks my heart huhuhuh…" Following that with fake tears, Komachi did her usual act and took a glance at me.

I can see you, you know…Good grief, what did I do to deserve such a foxy and cunning imotou?

Wait

…

…

What she said was _super_ personal right now! It took me a few seconds to register and the embarrassing poison was already seeping in! Using all the willpower and calling upon my inner self to reach the peak of Zen trance, I mustered a calm and composed facial expression finally decided to quell this situation and save myself from any more embarrassment.

"Yes, yes you're the cutest in the world." And I gave her a stare that I would do when I would space out when I'm studying and go like, "Hmm, that is one interesting wall, I wonder how loud I can play my porn without the Komachi in the other room hearing it? If she does however, will the sound be audible enough to be recorded on a mobile phone? And if both past statements are true, will that become an object that Komachi will use to blackmail me in order to get what she wants?".

But my plan backfired and Komachi returned my stare with an equally blank one, with a more disgusted expression that is.

"Ugh onii-chan stop being a creep. I know that you're a sis-con and all but don't you have the dignity not to do it in front of guests?"

That expression, that only I can make…We are indeed of the same flesh and blood! Onii-chan is proud of you Komachi!

"Anyway," I started wanting to change the flow of the conversation, "would you two like to come inside and have tea and coffee?" I offered, even though I'm a noob in social interactions, I still follow the rules of hospitality. I already deemed Kawasaki-san as a decent individual, and for me to invite her under our roof was just a sign of trust and friendliness.

Kawasaki-san looked to me and thought that she might consider my offer, oh, if she does accept…hmm, I hadn't quite thought that far ahead, time to make a backup plan just in case…

"Thank you for the offer but, we have to go now, my mom and Keika are going somewhere later and my part time job starts in an hour…" she said while scratching her head and giving an awkward smile.

"Oh, then." I said, whew, that was close.

Kawasaki-san called on to Kei-chan, and she quickly got a hug from Komachi and went to her sister's side.

"Well, it's been nice meeting you two. See you around the neighborhood then."

"Likewise." Oh man I sounded so cool hehehe.

"Bye Kawasaki-nee and Kei-chan!" Komachi said so in an energetic manner while waving her hands to the Kawasaki sisters retreating figures, in contrast to my cool one.

After they both disappeared as they turned in the next bend of the sidewalk, I felt a mischievous snicker coming from Komachi as she turned to me and gave me the smuggest grin I have seen.

"Wow onii-chan, you already snagged yourself a friend, and she's pretty too." She said as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, kinda like those gestures a cliché tsundere female character would do when she mocks the main character, who is a total wimp, doing his best fighting her, only to be defeated with a bullshit powerup with the power of friendship or him being OP from the start.

I closed my eyes and gave a small sigh before answering her.

"Good grief, silly imotou. How can I call a person I just met a friend? An acquaintance would be the proper word."


	2. An Interesting Exchange

Chapter 2

A person might say that he feels comfortable with someone after having met that person a few minutes ago, another might take a more reserved approach and never put their guard down around that person. Many factors take into effect as to how anyone would act, like mannerisms, that person's outward appearance and his likes and dislikes.

And when one has found a person of similar likes and tastes, it is in the likelihood that both sides would want to know more about each other, thus leading to acquaintanceship and ultimately into friendship.

After meeting Kawasaki-san, I find myself in a predicament of sorts.

Though I had said that I feel comfortable around her, enough that the silence between us is not awkward, I still have this voice behind my head saying not to trust her, though I pushed those rude thoughts from my mind earlier because I deemed them unfit as Kawasaki-san treated me kindly and it would be improper for me not to treat her likewise.

After their departure from the front of our house, I followed Komachi inside and we changed our shoes to slippers.

I noticed Komachi gave me a weird look and I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Onii-chan you're sweating so much it's a miracle you didn't have an odor on you when you were with Kawasaki-nee."

Now that she mentioned it, I was a sweating really hard. When I looked at the nearby mirror, my suspicions were enforced as I saw beads of sweat drip from my hair and my shirt had blotches of sweat on it.

Wow I looked really gross.

"Hahaha onii-chan were you really that nervous when you were with Kawasaki-nee the you began to sweat _that_ much? It would have been more hilarious if you were a stuttering mess! It must have been gross for Kawasaki-nee to be near you!" Komachi exclaimed while laughing, in fact she was laughing so hard that she started snorting.

 _Oink! Oink!_

Cease your laughter you swine!

I karate-chopped her head and heard her yelp upon impact. She rubbed her head with teary eyes and pouted at me.

"Mou onii-chan, I was just kidding…hehehe" Hey, don't apologize for laughing at me when you're giggling while apologizing!

"Hurry up and take a bath, let's go to that mall early so we can leave early and I can come back home." Truth be told, I was not really in the mood to go to the mall, but I already told Komachi that I would be coming with her. And it would hurt my pride as a man if I back down on my word!

Upon that realization, she sprinted towards the living room and zoomed upstairs to her room.

Good grief, what an eccentric child.

With her out of the way, I'll finally be able to finish my morning coffee that I left a while ago. Damnit, I bet it's already cold by now…

As I made my way to the table, I noticed a woman with a mop of dark brown hair sitting where dad was and reading the newspap er just like he was.

Ah, so moms already awake.

I wordlessly took a seat in front of her and took my already cold coffee.

"Good Morning Mom."

"Good Morning Hachi, did your father already leave?" Mom asked me without taking her eyes off of the newspaper.

"Yes."

"Well, he left his laptop again."

"Ah, I see. Well, dad's pretty smart so I think he'll be fine without it."

"Well, you're right about that kiddo. You're father ain't no idiot that's for sure. Otherwise, he couldn't have started that company of a year ago!" My mom is always shamelessly speaking proudly of my dad whenever given the chance.

You see, I don't like to boast but my dad is pretty smart and resourceful, so much that he decided to start his own company from the money he made as a corporate slave. He didn't even tell mom about it until a few months ago. Emphasis on the " _slave"._

Dad is the President of an accounting and logistics firm here in the Chiba Prefecture and he founded the company a year ago with the help of some big and important friends he made. He deals with the accounts of various companies that decide to outsource to him and not hire their own accountants and his company also offers logistical services to restaurants, department stores, hardware stores and even to the local fish and meat markets.

Recently, he told us the other day that he's been contacted by some school directors from local schools if he's accepting college trainees so that after they graduate, they can be immediately employed into his company.

Well, that's dad, mom has a similar story though.

Turns out mom had been working extra hard for the past few months because she was saving up to start her own coffee shop and bar in the shopping district downtown.

It was also the exact same place that made me go " _If I were to start my own café in this place, this area would be the most strategic!_ ". It surprised us when she told us about it because mom was never the avid book reader at home, when we asked her about it she just went " _Why? It's because I want somewhere I can just laze around sipping coffee while someone I hired is managing the place for me!"_

And I was like _"Wow mom, that's pretty impressive, but I see that your laziness has caught up to you."_ I think I got my laziness from mom…

Mom came home pretty late last night because the bartender had a sick leave, so she had to take the reins. And when she came home, she was so exhausted that she didn't even bother to wash up and just fell on top of her bed and went asleep.

So gross…

Anyway, the place she had quickly became a hit and she earned a lot of regulars, typically the _working-late-at-night_ types and the _I'll-have-a-beer-or-two-before-going-back-home-and-having-my-wife-scream-at-me-asking-where-I-was-and-quickly-assuming-that-I-was-cheating-on-her_ type. Not to mention the _I'm-a-single-lonely-beautiful-lady-in-my-30's-and-I'm-hoping-to-catch-a-cute-young-guy-here_ type.

A sudden chill went up my spine and a sense of dread for the future hovered over my very being. Did I just trigger my death flag?

Anyway, the place had only a few customers in daylight but when evening came, it was at that time that the customers would walk through that door.

And that is the time when, as my mom would say it, _"The suckers would come do drink their night away, what a bunch of drunkard losers!"._ That sounded pretty scummy…

 _*Ehh? So, you're an edgy upstart brat that belongs in a well-off family? *_

Shut your trap you hooligan!

I'll have you know that when the Hikigaya's had been financially elevated, my dad still refused my request for a raise and continued to give me 300-yen per day! That's really low you knowww? But somehow, I survived a whole school year with only 300-yen allowance.

I was jolted from my thoughts when I heard mom clear her throat, I must have spaced out for a bit. Mom looked over to me and cocked her eyebrow in question, much like what I did to Komachi earlier.

"I jogged earlier on my way to the convenience store when we ran out of sugar and cream."

She nodded telling me to go on as she sipped her tea and read the newspaper.

"When I went there I saw a pair but a girl already had eyes on them so I gave them to her instead. We talked for a bit and I found out that she's going to Sobou High like me."

My mom spat out her drink into the newspaper, also messing up parts of the floor in process.

Oi! what's with the exaggerated reactions from everyone around me recently?!

After having a fit of coughing, with me giving her a glass of water and a napkin to wipe with, she finally calmed down and gave me a look filled with pride.

"That's my Hachii! I knew I raised you right to be a gentleman! All those lessons I taught you back then on how to properly treat a lady will definitely get you a girlfriend for sure!" My mom said enthusiastically with sparkles in her eyes, the way she said it reminds me of Komachi, like mom like daughter I suppose.

With their similarities in personality and looks, my mom is what I imagine Komachi would look and act like when she's older. Not that my mom is old, she's still looks pretty youthful. Komachi is an exact copy of my mom, well except the hair though, me and Komachi got our hair color from dad. And while I got my dad's dead fish eyes, Komachi got mom's beautiful hazel colored eyes.

Thanks dad.

"Well thank you for the thought but I don't think I can be labeled as "boyfriend material".". I nonchalantly replied as I finally finished my coffee.

"Ah don't worry Hachii, I'm sure there's a girl out there for you." With my mom's peculiar enthusiasm on the topic, I decided to give her some hope.

"Well, if any normal girl were to meet me I'm sure they would immediately think I'm gross so the fact that I may even pique the interest of a female is highly unlikely. But don't worry dear mother! Once I have gained a fortune, I will clone myself and take care of him as my own son so that you will at least see an heir for me!" I said so proudly, ah my self-depreciating tendencies are going crazy!

"Ah, I see, I guess there's no hope for you at all…" Mom said in a dejected manner.

I know it was just a joke, but I think mom took me too seriously.

We heard the rushing of footsteps from upstairs as a door was closed and the sounds grew louder as the source appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

Komachi was holding a pile of clothes on her arm while she held a towel on the other.

"Komachi? What's all the ruckus about?" My mom asked.

"Ahh onii-chan decided to stop being holed up in this house and being a NEET and accepted my offer on going to the mall!" She said so excitedly.

My mom gave a shriek of delight and began skipping towards Komachi.

Seriously, what's with the over the top reactions?! Are we a part of a comedy skit?! Is there a hidden camera hidden here or something?!

Is some fuccboi gonna jump out of nowhere and say _"Lol chill bro it's just a prank fam look there's a camera right there lmao XD RAWR!"._

"Kyaahh! I see your brother is finally trying to come out of his closet, as his sister, you should do your best and help him out, ok Komachi?"

"Oi you used the wrong metaphor, and appropriate one would be "Coming out of his shell.", the one you used now sounded pretty gay." But my words were ignored by the two loud females in front of me.

"Haiii! I will definitely help out onii-chan because if I won't he'll be the same loser until we grow up and if that should happen, I definitely don't want to be associated with him because he's a pathetic excuse for a human being and a failure as a functional member of society!" She said so in a cheerful manner.

K.O.!

I clenched my heart from the barrage on insults I received.

Komachi-chan, your onii-chan is not immune to being hurt you know?

Even though I'm used to being insulted and such that doesn't mean I don't have feelings anymore you knoww?

I can get hurt too you knowww?

"Oi, that went too far _Komachi_." I said so in a menacing tone and approached her. As my spiritual pressure, lol, fluctuated and the air around me was buzzing and distorting, mom sensed this.

"A-ahh, w-well, I'll be going outside to call your f-father!" She said in a shaky voice as she sprinted towards the door.

Clever girl, I mean woman.

Komachi had a betrayed expression on her face as mom left her on her own.

"O-onii-chan hehehe, I was just kidding…hehehe" She cowered from my presence as I towered over her.

"My dear _imotou_ , you just crossed the line, what do you have to say for yourself?" I bet I looked like the villain of an anime with his eyes covered by his hair and his right eye shining.

"U-uhh, I-I'm sorry onii-chan, I guess I got too far with my teasing…"

I forced my spiritual pressure, lol, to dissipate, and the air around us turned back to normal.

I heard a sigh of relief coming from the female in front of me.

Fufufufu, did you think you'll get out of this unscathed?!

Fool!

 _Whosshh!_

With my mental sound effects and a high pitched " _WATAHH!",_ I karate chopped her head as a form of discipline and as a reminder.

She quickly yelped and squealed from the pain, but before she can put her hand on her head to soothe the pain, I moved in and put her on a choke hold, not too hard of course.

"A-ah oniichan! Stop it! I-It hurts!"

"Hehehe I won't stop until you've learned your lesson, _ko-ma-chi-ch-an_." I made the scummiest voice and expression I could muster because I was feeling extra scummy at the moment.

I then put my knuckle on her head and began violently rubbing it against her.

"A-ah, onii-chan! S-stop it, I've learned my lesson, I w-won't do it again a-ah!"

"Do you _promise_?"

"Kyah! Y-yes, I promise! I'll be a g-good girl from now on, so p-please let my g-go already or else I'm gonna~"

I finally let her go as she gave me a pout and rubbed her head.

Part of the reason because her earlier dialogues were making me uncomfortable and becoming like those hentai that I have _definitely_ never watched before.

 _Wink Wink_

 _*Eww, Hikigaya, you are definitely a siscon. We fear for the chastity of your younger sister…*_

Shut your mouth you amoeba.

"Mou onii-chan, you say I crossed the line but you always go for the overkill with your comebacks…"

"Whatever, just go to the bath already and so we can be on our way."

She was about to turn around and go to the bathroom but she had a wicked grin on her face.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Onii-chan would you like to take a bath with me? We haven't done it in ages!"

I knew it.

If I was some other guy, I would most likely say, _"W-What?! What are you saying?!"._

But nope, I'm not your typical guy.

I'm your honest to God cynical loner who always thinks that the world is against him not to mention always anticipating worst-case scenarios.

So, with that in mind, I was unfazed by her brazen statement.

"Oh please, that line is so overused and cliché. It's going to take more than that to break me. Now go. _Shoo_. Begone from my presence." I said so as I shoo'ed her away with my hands.

…. After Komachi took a bath, without me of course, I followed and cleaned up my sweat covered body, and now I'm currently in my boxers trying to pick a choice of clothing.

Ah to heck with it.

I just grabbed a plain blue t-shirt and my old jeans.

I have no knowledge regarding fashion so I won't pretend to know it by bothering myself to take my time and analyze each and every damned garment and know which one suites with what.

With me fully clothed, I am finally ready to step out of my room and join Komachi downstairs.

But wait! I have forgotten the most crucial necessity that I have to bring with me!

I went to my closet and pulled out my light novels that I already finished. Within these pages are what I plan to bring with me today.

That's right.

Money.

Yes, you heard me.

I stored my savings that I acquired from a part of my meager 300-yen daily allowance inside the pages of my trashy Light Novels. But even if they were trashy, I still loved them. Just as much as how the Russians love their ballet so much.

When I opened the page where the money was folded, it was at the part where the lame main character was about to beat the villain using an OP power that only he can use, after his romantic interest was murdered before his very eyes.

Of course, the female will be revived by some ridiculous magic spell or something.

 _*Ugh, that's like super cringey, even for you Hikigaya…*_

Yes, please don't remind me, you're making me want to kill myself again.

As I took my books out one by one, I heard footsteps nearing my door and the door itself opening.

"Onii-chan! Hurry up let's go already!" I didn't look behind me, but I was more concerned that Komachi might see what I used to read back then, so I quickly hid them from her view.

"Ahhh, please wait a bit Komachi, your loser onii-chan is saying goodbye to his imaginary girlfriend so please go away and wait for me downstairs." Through my gross lie that I fabricated on the spot, I could practically _hear_ Komachi's face morph into that of disgust.

"Geez onii-chan, that's not healthy you know?" I heard her close the door and her footsteps fading.

Good grief that was a close one.

Though I have a feeling that Komachi outright believed my lie, and was genuinely concerned for my well-being.

Well I'll clear things up later.

As I continued to remove bills of money from my light novels, I was surprised by the amount. All in all, I was able to save quite a large sum, that even I was surprised.

Hmm, I don't remember having this much money the last time I counted it, but there's an old saying in Chinese, "To continuously count your money while you are saving it is bad-luck", or something along those lines.

I gathered up the bills and put them on my wallet and I headed downstairs to join my airheaded imotou.

As I went down, I saw that mom also just came out of the shower and was wearing a bath robe around herself.

"Ah, Hachi, you're already going to go?" She asked

"Yes. Oh, and mom, can I have a bit of cash today? Just in case something catches my eye and all." I asked her while looking away. Why am I embarrassed to ask for a bit of money anyway? Have I really been accustomed to my 300-yen that a slight increase would make me undeserving of it?

"Fufufu, no need to be embarrassed Hachi, you barely buy stuff on your own anyway." She said as she went to her handbag and grabbed her wallet.

She fished out eight one thousand-yen bills and held them in front of me.

"Go buy yourself something nice Hachi! But ask your sister first before you buy, for a second opinion of course."

I was hesitant to accept such a large amount so I said nothing.

Mom noticed the hesitation in me so she decided to give me some motherly wisdom.

"Hachi, you barely buy anything for yourself, even though me and your father would gladly give you what you want. I know you are not fond of things such as this, but it's fine to spoil yourself once in a while. Also, your self-depreciating tendencies are kind of obvious at this point and it makes me question myself if I raised you right…" Mom's voice trailed off at the last part, but I still managed to hear it.

Don't worry mom, no need to blame yourself. The person I am now is of my own making and choice.

I swallowed my twisted pride and accepted her gift and put in in my pocket. I also bowed to show her my gratitude.

"Thank you, _okaa-sama_."

"Ahh, stop that calling me that Hachi, you're embarrassing me." She said with a slight tinge of red on her cheeks as she put her hand against them as if she was feeling cold.

Oi oi, that's not an expression someone would make telling someone to stop, that's the exact opposite!

That's what I call the _praise-me-more-you-degenerate-because-that's-what-I-get-off-to_ look!

I straightened my back and went to the doorway so I can change my shoes, Komachi was already waiting by the door when I reached her.

"Hey, hey Onii-chan, please be at your best behavior today, ok? Let's have fun!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.

"No need to tell me twice, I am not a child. I will try not to bore you to death with me as your personal bag carrier." My words were dripping with sarcasm.

Oh boy, today was going to suck.

We were currently on a train on our way district that's filled with malls and the like. Komachi and I decided to walk to the station from home in the blistering heat.

Well, maybe I just have a low tolerance to the sun and I get burned easily, or maybe it's because I rarely go outside of the house that I was not accustomed to the heat of our local star.

It's probably the latter.

However, as Komachi was just closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder while waiting for our stop, I on the other hand, was heavily meditating on the things happening around me and I have experienced so far.

…

…

…

The sun is too hot on the outdoors.

I feel dizzy and light headed.

There's barely a cool breeze of air outside.

There's people around and it's too crowded.

I'll sweat if I go outside and my skin will get gross.

I feel gross, I want to take a bath.

I want to go home to my Vita-chan.

I want to take a nap on the sofa.

I want to read my trashy light novels.

Wait.

I already finished all of them and part of the reason why I'm out of the comfort of my own home is because I want to buy some new books to read.

 _Sigh…_

"What's wrong, Onii-chan?" Komachi asked beside me, she must have heard my sigh.

"Nothing much Komachi, I should have brought our family katana so I can kill myself here and now to end the suffering of my existence." My words dripping with sarcasm, I must have said that in a serious tone because the people around the train that we were taking to the station near the mall looked at me queerly.

I can almost read their minds.

Old man-san is thinking _"Good grief, kids these days…"_

Hipster guy-san is thinking _"Maybe I can take what he said and post it later on my edgy twitter account…"_

Big breasts onee-san is like _"Eww what a loser, I hope he doesn't look my way. What if he's a pervert? Oh my, I should get ready to dial the police and hold on to my pepper spray just in case…"_

Oi oi what the heck lady? It's rude to judge people based on their appearances, didn't your parents teach you that?

Komachi gave me a look that said " _Please act normal today."_

I did not reply to her and just closed my eyes to take a nap, might as well take one to conserve my energy.

Not five minutes had I closed my eyes and Komachi already lightly shook my shoulders to wake me up.

"Onii-chan, we're close so wake up already."

I gave a groan of annoyance and truth be told we were already near, only a few moments left until we come to a full stop and the passengers on the train start disembarking.

I stood up and Komachi did the same, I signaled her to hold my left hand so we won't get separated from the crowd.

 _*Eww Hikigaya, your sis-con side is showing…*_

Good grief, what's wrong with siblings holding hands so they won't get separated in a crowd?

As the doors of the train opened, and the people going out and inside the train began to increase, I quickly maneuvered my way through the crowd.

That's also one of the abilities of my [STAND], it gives me quick agility and speed to maneuver my way skillfully through a crowd, almost seeing them in slow motion, thus, my movements were precise.

Well that's what I like to call I anyway.

Unfortunately, the female that I was forced to accompany today did not possess the same skill as I, and she was having difficulty in keeping up with me, even though we were holding hands.

Pff, what a normie.

"Onii-chan slow down, what are we even in a hurry for?" she asked with her brows furrowed.

"Your onii-chan doesn't like crowds, as you may already know, and this is the most efficient way to our destination." I told her without looking to see her reaction, but judging how she didn't reply, she probably gave up and gave me the reins.

After a few minutes of dodging people, narrowly hitting someone's drink, nearly having my arm nudge the boob of a passing lady and avoiding shady-looking people, we have finally reached the exit and was greeted with the hot air.

Ah, at least the sun is covered with clouds.

"Ahh, finally! Now the mall is only a short walk away! Let's go onii-chan!" Her vigor and energy had somehow returned, though mine is low and depleted as always.

"Yes yes…"

We walked to the mall hand in hand and we passed by a lot of shops along the way.

I saw a store that sold anime merchandise, and inside I can see teenage virgin guys and creepy fujoshi girls.

Seriously, I find fujoshis disturbing.

Like how you trigger them with the slightest homoerotic innuendo that barely even qualifies as such.

Or how they would pair you up with your other male classmates and decide who was the submissive one or the dominant one.

Not to mention that they buy a lot of yaoi manga and novels and sometimes bring them to school so they can bring their other female friends into the fold, but at least they are very fond of books, I can respect that at least.

Ugh, ok enough of that, the hairs on my arm were standing up.

Other shops included boutiques, pet shops, flower shops, a jewelry store, a tech center and of course, a common sight around here, the coffee shops.

Hmm, speaking of coffee shops, ours was close to this area, though I forgot where it is exactly located because I only went there once.

The last time I went there was 2-3 months ago, and I hated the memory because the place was filled with riajus and noisy teens taking pictures of their drinks and posting it on social media.

Normalfags be like.

I was brought back to reality when Komachi pulled on my hand and she gave me an annoyed look.

Geez what's with that look?

"Onii-chan stop spacing out, I know you do it all the time at home but it's dangerous if you do it in public _that_ often."

"Ah, ok…"

I was not in the mood to form an adequate and witty retort because for some reason I was really tired.

…

Wait

…

…

…

WE DIDN'T HAVE BREAKFAST YET!

My eyes widened for the first time and my body was on full alert, immediately looking for a place where I can eat.

Preferably somewhere cheap and had a lot of food.

"Onii-chan are you looking for a place to eat?" Komachi asked

What's this? She can read minds too just like Kawasaki-san?!

"Ah, yes. I forgot that I didn't have breakfast yet. Speaking of which, did you already eat this morning?" I asked her.

"I don't need to eat this morning because your willingness to come with me made me full of energy already!" She squealed enthusiastically.

Oi oi, stop doing that, it's embarrassing and people are looking at us.

Good grief what a silly imotou…

"Stop goofing around, you should have a proper meal, let's go already." I went ahead of her as I dragged her towards the food district.

Ah, what to eat I wonder?

My first choice would be saize and ramen, but saize is a bit too heavy in the morning, even for me, and ramen is a terrible selection given the weather outside.

I guess I have no choice then…

"Komachi, I'll just have a meat bread from a bakery around here, what about you?"

She gave me a sad and disappointed look from my response.

What's wrong with meat bread? It already has proteins in it and the bread acts as a morning alternative for rice! Plus, it's cheap and convenient!

"Fine, I'll have one too…"

A fine choice milady.

I caught sight of a bakery and I immediately made a beeline towards it. Judging from the smell coming from it, it looks like they just finished a fresh batch.

A stomach rumbled in response to the external stimuli which was the smell of food.

But the sound did not come from me.

I looked at Komachi and she had a blank look on her face while her cheeks were a bit pink.

So, she's trying to act tough to hide her embarrassment huh…

I chuckled silently as we entered the store and began to pick out the best bread to eat. The store had a large variety of goods to choose from, but we made our way to the meat breads section. I had my eye on a chicken bun, but the pork bun also looked attractive.

Komachi picked out a tuna bun so I picked one too, she always had a good eye when it came to selecting food, so I'll trust her judgement on this. We made our way to the cashier but Komachi told me that she'll just pay for ours and I can wait outside, so I gladly accepted her offer.

Food tastes best when it's free.

 _*Wow Hikigaya, you're as shameless as ever I see…*_

Indeed, that is true dear reader.

As I waited for Komachi to finish our paying for our purchases, a girl in my peripheral vision caught my eye.

For some reason, my eyes were drawn to her, and she came from the direction where Komachi and I were a few minutes ago.

She has shoulder length black hair, and was wearing red-rimmed eyeglasses. She had a lithe frame and she was wearing a white summer dress that ended below her knees. Sandals complemented her look as she wore a large sun hat and with her black leather purse, she looked quite nice.

I noticed that she was walking quite strangely, with her head low as if not wanting to be recognized or noticed.

Well, with what you're wearing, it's hard not to notice you, you know?

As she drew nearer I averted my eyes, but I did steal side glances at her.

For some reason, she was familiar, I feel like I had seen her before…

When she passed by me, her hat flopped to the other side, which gave me a glimpse of her eyes. My dark eyes met her brown ones for a split second, and then we looked away.

As she passed by me, I waited several seconds before looking back at her again. I stared at her retreating figure until she dissolved into the crowd ahead.

Hmm...

A piece of bread was nudged into my face and I immediately recoiled out of instinct.

"Onii-chan, what's wrong? Who was that girl? Do you know her?" The voice of Komachi inquired as she handed over to me my tuna bun.

"I don't know, for some reason she looked familiar…" I received the bun and removed the wrapping, savoring the moment because it was still hot.

"She looked nice and her dress was quite cute." She said while eating her tuna bun, oi don't talk with your mouth full, that's rude.

"Hmm…"

Our conversation ended there as we made our way to the entrance of the mall. The tuna buns were quite good and I finally satisfied my hunger. I can see that Komachi was feeling the same as well, seeing that she didn't have any complaints.

Once we were inside, a foreboding sense of dread washed over me as I knew what was going to happen next.

"Komachi, what do you want to look for first?"

"Clothes!"

Oh no…

Every male's worst nightmare when accompanying a female in the mall.

But this was Komachi, and as her onii-chan, I must always be strong!

"Lead the way." With that she grabbed my hand and dragged me as her eyes roamed around for reconnaissance.

Her eyes darted to every female clothes shop that we passed by, and with only a few milliseconds, she would asses if it was worth going inside or not.

So far, we have yet to enter a store, and I made myself keep up to her pace and not be dragged around like a disobedient puppy because it was hurting my pride as a man.

After a few minutes, she stopped to a full halt in front of a store that was named _Jezebel's_ and it was in English too. Good thing I can read and write English, and thanks to my younger self watching BBC nature documentaries narrated by that old British guy with a pleasant voice, my grades back in middle school English were always perfect!

Thank you, Mr. David Attenborough!

As we entered the store, my eyes immediately began searching for a chair that I can rest on while Komachi looks for her clothes.

"Komachi, I'll go look for a place to sit down." I told her.

"What? Oh, go ahead then." She was paying little attention to me because apparently, a cute pink dress is worth giving more attention than her brother.

You just lost a ton of points, Komachi-chan!

I walked around the store looking for a seat. Many stores have seats near the changing rooms, so I went there first.

Good news is that I spotted a few seats, but alas, it was already occupied by a number of my fellow men who have been dragged by their female companions into this wretched place!

I can see the boredom in their eyes as they spaced out and stared at the wall or the floor.

I can feel you brothers…you are not alone in this struggle…

Guess I'll stick around Komachi then…

I spotted Komachi looking at a few dresses and immediately went up to her. As I caught sight of the dress that she was picking out, I noticed something very wrong with it.

It exposed too much skin.

"Oi Komachi, what's with that dress you got there? I'm not part of the fashion police but even I can say that it's showing too much skin to wear in public. I won't allow you to buy that." I reprimanded her, if she was to wear that in public I would have to point a gun at any guy that looks in her direction.

Don't worry father, we will protect Komachi!

"Haaah? But Onii-chan, this is a nightgown."

Wait…

What…

I took another look at the dress that she picked out and finally took a good look at it.

Soft-looking fabric, check. Semi-transparent, check. Looks easy to move around, check. Looks comfortable, check. Appeals to the female population due to exposing the seductiveness of the body and has a lot of feminine charm, check. A high chance of a lonely wife seducing her husband who has been neglecting her because of his stress from work, VERY check.

Ok, one last, thing…

I craned my head around the place and we were directly underneath the _Nightwear_ section.

…

…

Wow, good going me, you embarrassed yourself again today.

My embarrassment must have shown because the people that were within earshot of my earlier declaration began silently snickering.

Pff, laugh while you're still alive, filthy commoners!

When I turned to Komachi, she was trying to hold back a _very_ loud and boisterous laugh, to the point that she will start snorting like pig just like what she did at home this morning.

"Komachi, let's split up here, I'll be going to the bookstore."

The mirth that was threatening to burst from her earlier disappeared and she sported a downcast expression on her face.

"Ah, ok. Just call me when you're done…I think I'll take a while looking for stuff too…"

I didn't want us to separate like this, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth, so I did what is expected as her Onii-chan!

"Don't worry Komachi, you need not to ask for my opinion when you show me a dress you picked out and wore in front of me. Any dress will do because you are the cutest in the world!"

Her entire face exploded in crimson and I could see steam going out from her ears.

I realized that I have made more attention to myself because a few people were whispering to each other and looking at us, they could have at least tried to act less conspicuous…

"H-Haahh?! W-What are you saying baka Onii-chan! W-Well, it can't be helped t-then! Come back when I tell you to, ok?!" Komachi exclaimed while stuttering, making her last threat lost its effect on me.

"Hai, _ojou-sama_." I mockingly bowed to her before she lightly punched my shoulder for my act, after that, we parted ways, with her face still a red mess by the way.

Haha, I love teasing her so much to fish out those cute reactions.

Now with her out of the way, and me not being her slave anymore, the true Hikigaya Hachiman will resurface!

I activated my STAND, [108 loner skills], which has many abilities, including one that I like to call _STEALTH HIKKI_!

 _*Hikigaya, your chunni side is showing again…*_

Let me have this delusion, at least…

STEALTH HIKKI allows me to be undetectable and unnoticeable in plain sight, and, with my already low sense of presence, I am at the peak of my power!

With this I am invisible to those people who might scam me with shady deals and store workers enticing me to buy and enter their store!

As I made my way through stores and stalls towards the bookstore I passed by earlier, a familiar figure entered my vision.

It was the girl from earlier, the one wearing the white summer dress…

She was a few meters ahead of me and seemed like she was going in the same direction I was.

 _*Hello police? I believe to have spotted a suspicious individual in public, which seems to be a stalker…*_

Hahaha, very funny. Go kill yourself.

As I walked my earlier suspicions were enforced as the girl would sometimes stop and look to right and left, sometimes she would look behind her. When she does however, I would tactically move behind someone so she won't see me.

Wow, I legitimately feel like a stalker…

I have concluded that this girl doesn't want to be recognized in public, or that she is hiding from someone by dressing up in a fashion that's not usually in her style.

Either way, I don't care, she can jump from a bridge for all I care. Wait, that went a little too far…

As I neared the bookstore that I spotted earlier, the girl reached it first and went inside, after looking at her surroundings of course. Upon entering, the bookstore, it was bigger than I expected it to be. Large shelves occupied a large portion of the space inside, each one had a label hanging on top of it from the ceiling. In the novel aisle romance section, I saw a couple of girls giggling to each other as they read the contents of the book.

Ugh, probably some cringey romance that's so sweet it will give me sugar overdoes.

Upon closer inspection, the place only had a few customers, not to mention that I saw a _WE ARE HIRING_ sign I saw outside. Hmm, I will inquire about that on a later time…

With me continuing to assess the bookstore itself, and see if it's worth going back again, I might even become a regular here, I remembered that I lost sight of the girl that I saw earlier, I wonder where she is?

I shrugged to myself, it's not that I was intrigued at her actions or anything!

Through the shelves that I passed and the novels that were scanned with my rotten eyes, only a few ever caught my attention. I decided not to look for Light Novels right now because I forgot to search online for its reviews, and picking up every book and examining it closely will take more time.

I am of course in a hurry to finish up everything and return home!

One of them was located in the classics aisle, which contained copies of one of the most famous literary pieces created by the past masters.

Ah, _The Iliad,_ I have yet to completely read a copy of this, only shortened summaries that we were in our textbooks in middle school.

 _Frankenstein,_ I laugh to myself when people call Dr. Frankenstein's monster _Frankenstein,_ at least get it right damnit!

 _Moby Dick_ , ah, the classic struggle between beast and man!

 _Macbeth,_ I believe we had a play of this when I was a kid, but I don't remember what role I played as, probably something useless or a background character, somewhere along those lines.

 _Romeo and Juliet,_ as you might expect, I never bothered to read one because romance was never in my interest.

 _The Silmarilion,_ finally! I have been looking for this for ages! Now which one to buy? A book by the great Tolkien, or the one made by Homer?

As I was contemplating which book I should pick out, a person slightly came into view from my left side. I can see a white skirt and sandals.

Wait…

It's the girl from before.

I quickly made a discreet sideway glance at her, but she also had the same idea. I finally got a proper look at her face this time.

She's not wearing her sun hat anymore, and I can properly see her facial features now.

Her face had a soft look to it, though I can't quite call it _delicate._ She had fair skin and straight dark brown hair ended just a few centimeters above her shoulders. Her hair was neat and had a clean and formal look to it.

Finally, her brown eyes were behind red rimmed eyeglasses, and, for some reason, she was breathing hard and had a flushed face.

She looks tired, and I can see the remains of a few beads of sweat on her brow. Well, given that it's quite hot outside, that's to be expected I guess.

We made eye contact for a full three seconds, before she broke from my gaze and continued staring at the row of shelved books in front of her.

She was probably disgusted at me physical features, or she thought I was familiar and she recognized me from earlier.

Anyway, I ignored her and went back to my contemplating in which book to get.

…

…

…

…

Ok, now her presence is bothering me.

What was she doing? If she wanted to get pick up a book, she should have one by now. Her eyes were fixated at the _classics_ section, maybe she's waiting for me to move so she can grab a book?

I pretended to be interested in certain shelf a few steps away from her and moved over there. As I expected, she immediately went to the place where I was moments ago and began to look for something.

I heard a _tch_ from her and she looked over to me, but I quickly turned my head before she can catch me looking at her.

Damn I feel like a creep.

I realized that I was still holding the copy of _The Iliad_ , ah maybe I'll buy this next time, I'm not in the mood for some Greek literature today. So, I made my way to her to return the book to its shelf. Tolkien ftw!

"Excuse me…" Her eyes were widened when she saw the book in my hand. I wonder, was she looking for this book?

"Yes?" She asked back.

Ah, she must have thought that I was trying to engage into a conversation with her. But I can still see her sneaking glances that the book in my hand…what to do…

"Were you looking for this book?"

I held up the book in front of me and her eyes followed it like when a dog follows a tennis ball held by the hand of its master.

"Ah, it's fine, really. You were the one who got first anyway." She made her move and turned her back at me, if her hair was long enough, it would have hit me in the face. What the heck was that? I felt like I was just rejected!

Hey! What she did was just like what I did to Kawasaki-san this morning!

"But I decided to by another book, so you can have this." If I was talking to Komachi, what I said would have gotten me a ton of points!

She turned to me once more and gave me a grateful look, "Ah, my thanks."

I handed the book to her wordlessly and went to the shelf where I found _The Silmarilion,_ ah there you are my sweet, tonight we will consummate our love!

" _The Silmarilion?_ Oh, I heard that's a pretty nice book!" the girl behind me exclaimed.

What's this? This girl is trying to start a conversation with _me?_

It would be rude for me to ignore her, so I decided to indulge into some _healthy social interactions_ , wow, that sounded so terrible and wrong coming from me. But if I am to improve myself, I have to do this!

"Indeed, it is, though that goes without saying because the great Tolkien himself wrote this."

"Have you read _The Lord of The Rings_ series?" she asked.

"All of them."

"That's impressive. I had a hard time reading them because some of the words were too complex for me to understand."

Huh? But you're holding a copy of _The Iliad_ right now…

She must have realized what I was thinking because she immediately added, "Oh, you must be wondering why I am interested in this book, even though I said that I have a hard time reading with complex words, no?"

I wordlessly nodded.

She held the cover of the book and pointed at some of the text at the bottom part that I didn't bother to read.

"This is the simplified version. It's been edited to be readable for readers like myself, though not completely changed to the point where it is completely different from the original."

So, it's a normie version of the book edited for normie readers.

Ah, I see. So not everyone is as smart as me huh. A pity. Life must be hard when you have normie-level I.Q.

"Oh, I never noticed that." I looked at the book on my hand and scanned a few pages. "Well, mine is the original copy and it's in English too."

"Wow, you must be pretty smart then."

This is the 2nd time I have been told that today, and I'm still not sure on how to respond.

Being so used to being verbally bullied at school has led me to the confusion on what I should to on the rare occasions that I am complimented, by people outside my family.

So, I awkwardly laughed a bit.

 _*cringe*_

"Ahaha, my thanks. You must be pretty intelligent yourself, seeing that you seek to improve you current reading skills, no? I'm also glad that I have met a fellow book enthusiast."

She lightly blushed and awkwardly laughed. What part of my sentence made her blush, I wonder? She might be thinking that I'm a creep for hitting on her or something.

"Ah, I totally get you. Only a few of my classmates read novels and such, and most of them just try it out for a bit, only for them to go back to their ridiculous anime and manga, not to mention those strange books they read called _light novels._ "

Ouch, that hit home. She even low-key stated that light novels are gross. Look I know that they are gross, but only a few of them appeal to me, and the ones that do genuinely interest me and not because of the illustrations on the cover page.

She looked at me funny from my reaction from her statement, she must be very observant if she spotted my unease…

Right now, I have to find a loophole outside of this awkward situation.

"I know right, I remember a few classmates who would dress up in anime stuff and spout nonsense all of a sudden. They were eccentric fellows and I would always keep my distance and make sure not to associate myself with the likes of them."

Did I just insult and degrade myself? I did, didn't I?

I saw her eye twitch. Some people might not have noticed it, but my dead fish eyes see all.

"A-Ah, I think we feel the same on that subject. I passed by an anime store a while ago and I immediately cringed, I didn't even want to look inside!" For some reason, I think she's lying…

Well, I'll just keep up the act for now.

"Yes hahaha, I chose not to sneak a look inside because I was afraid I would see something that would make me lose my faith in humanity. But wait, are we talking about the same anime store the one near the entrance to the mall, that's a few stores away from a bread shop?" I asked her.

"Yes, that one."

"I saw you pass by that place earlier when I was walking with my sister, though I'm not sure if you caught sight of me."

 _*Hikigaya, that sounded a bit stalker-ish…*_

Really?

 _*Not too much, but, just a tad bit…*_

She had a look of slight surprise on her face.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing you there. I'm surprised that you remember me."

With a face like yours, it's hard to forget it. But I wasn't going to say that of course. But if I did, I am predicting two scenarios;

One, she would blush and think I'm hitting on her, then we would exchange contact information for future meet ups. After a number of meetings, one of us would declare the he/she likes the other and would like to be in a relationship. Once the relationship has been formed, we would decide if it would remain a secret or we would introduce each other to our parents. A few years later, I would decide to marry her and she would say yes, a year later, we are now intertwined by marriage and love. About that time, my father would retire and I would take over the company. The year after that, our son would be born, and would be followed by two more children. Komachi would be a happy and proud aunt and my parents would finally rest easy in knowing that their son has succeeded in life. We would be the perfect picture of a happy and ideal family, the end.

Or two, she would be disgusted and call the police on me for accused sexual harassment, and I would be unjustly punished by the law.

I realized that we've been talking for a bit, yet we didn't reveal each other's names.

"I believe this is a bit late, but we should introduce ourselves. My name is Hikigaya Hachiman." I held my hand out to her for a handshake. I decided to initiate because I hate being seen as an indecisive person.

"Ah, I see, you can just call me…Hinata-san, yeah." She took my hand and shook it.

When I let go, I was glad that my hands weren't sweaty, because if it was, and I shook my hand with Hinata-san, that would have been super gross.

I heard someone clear their throat, and I turned my head to the source. An elderly woman had a look of annoyance on her face when our eyes met.

"Excuse me young man, but if you really intend to talk to this lady over here, please do it somewhere else, the both of you are blocking the walkway here."

Before Hinata-san could react, I activated another ability of my [STAND], which directs the blame on myself instead of others!

"My deepest apologies for my rude behavior, madam." I bowed slightly to show how sincere I am.

But the truth is, bowing while apologizing has a higher chance of being forgiven, a fact that I have tested many times in the past and almost always works, but for some reason it doesn't work on Komachi…

"Hmph, at least you have manners I see…" she mumbled as we made room for her to pass by. When she was out of earshot, I gave a sigh of relief, but my partner looked rather out of place.

Hinata-san was fidgeting a little with a troubled look on her face.

"Hikigaya-san, that was rude of me, I made you look like a bad guy…"

"No need to worry, I purposely directed the blame on myself." I must have said that in a proud tone because she looked at me weirdly, then she lightly started giggling.

"That was quite heroic, but the means does not justify the ends I suppose. I don't have anything else to buy so I'm heading to the cashier, wanna come with me?" she asked me.

What is this?

This female, not only was she willing to speak to a person of low social standing such as me, but she also wants me to accompany her?

Nah, I'm probably just overthinking things like always. This is just a friendly invitation for the sake of social norms…

"I see why not." I had no reason to deny her offer, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't think of an appropriate excuse at the moment.

As we made our way to our destination, her earlier tendencies, which were looking around herself and trying not to catch any attention, returned as soon as we came within sight of other people.

I ignored it because I was busy on trying to remember all the contact information and other details needed for those interested in having a part time job here which I saw from a recruitment poster nearby.

I felt a finger poke my cheek and I turned to the perpetrator.

"Hinata to Hikigaya-san, hello? Can you read me? Man, what were you thinking about? You were totally spacing out." Hinata-san said with a look of bewilderment.

"I'm interested in the recruitment poster, that's all." I replied lazily.

Her eyes followed mine and she soon caught sight of the said poster.

"Oh, so you want to work part time here?" She asked inquisitively.

"Not yet, first I want to check the place out, then maybe I'll start working here."

"May I ask why?" she asked again.

I appreciate her asking my permission to inquire first rather than just jumping to the question.

"I just wanted to have a working experience, and some extra cash of course."

"Makes sense…" she quietly said.

Our conversation stopped there as we drew closer to the cashier. There were only a few people in the store, and fewer still waiting at the cashier so it didn't take long for us to pay for our purchases.

When we came out of the store with our purchases in hand, I noticed her expression change, from a face of solace and peace, to the look of uncontainable excitement to the points where I can see her shoulders shaking.

She must be _really_ excited to read that book because she's breathing hard and I already see sweat begin to for on her forehead, plus, her face is flushed…wait, what…?

"Hinata-san, is something wrong?" I asked.

"O-Oh nothing, Hikigaya-san. It's just I _really_ want to read this book right now so I'm gonna head straight home!" Her voice was quivering from the thought of reading that book? Damn I've never seen anyone get excited that much over something.

"Ah, I see. Well I'll be heading this way to head back to my sister. See your around Hinata-san."

"Goodbye Hikigaya-san, I'm sure we'll see each other in the near future, and please do tell me your thoughts on the book you bought today and I will inform you mine when we see each other again." she said with a small smile, her earlier change of mood subsiding.

"I'll hold you to that Hinata-san, goodbye and stay safe."

With me giving her a nod and her a smile, we turned the other way at the same time and began walking without looking back.

Several steps later, a sudden curiosity came to me and I craned my head to take a peek at her…

She was skipping happily, and from this distance, I can see the effects of her earlier excitement begin to resurface.

All the while I had one thought in my mind.

 _What a strange girl, yet very interesting…_

…..

A few minutes after we separated, I decided to go the department store to go look for some new clothes.

And here I am.

The store that I chose to purchase clothes from had a sale on selected items of up to 40% off, only an idiot would not be attracted to such a bargain. But unfortunately, many others had the same idea as I.

I can already see the long line in the cashier, with people lining up carrying the clothes they desire to purchase. I estimated around forty people divided between two cashiers, there were actually five cashiers but the other three had an "Undergoing repair" sign on it.

Good grief, how inconvenient.

Before I could take a step inside, I thought about the choices before me.

Should I endure a large number of people, and possibly a long waiting line, just so I can buy clothes that are on a sale of up to 40% off?

Or leave this place and look for another store altogether?

Hmm…

…

…

Well, patience is a virtue, and with that, I stepped inside.

Upon entering the store, it actually had a large interior, contrary to its outward appearance. It had a similar layout to the bookstore earlier, but instead of books, there were clothes, and of course, instead of only a few people like the bookstore, this place was jam packed.

My STAND, [108 loner skills], has many abilities, one of them includes giving me the ability to quickly maneuver my way through crowds, I believe I used this ability earlier with Komachi.

 _*Hikigaya, stop being such a weeb, you know you have no powers*_

…

Aaanyway, I picked up a nearby shopping cart and made my way to the men's section and began to look for an article of clothing that would suit my tastes…

After several minutes of me picking out clothes, checking the fabric, going to the fitting room to see if it feels comfortable, and of course, checking the price, I finally picked out the ones that came to my liking.

A slim-fitting white long-sleeved polo shirt that had a thin fabric and was pretty cool to wear, the "temperature" kind of cool not the "looks" kind, ok?

A pair of black jeans that were not too tight, nor too loose. I picked this one because it weighed light making laundry work easy.

Two running shorts, blue and black, for when I would use it for jogging in the morning.

Camouflage style casual shorts because it looked cool and I have never owned one before.

Some boxers because you can never have too many boxers!

Two simple white t-shirts for me to wear at home.

And of course, a hat, like those you see Chinese tourists wear, so that I no one can recognize me in public.

With those inside my cart, I began to walk to where the cashiers where located, but a t-shirt caught my eye.

It was a pitch-black t-shirt with batman's symbol on the middle, it looked nice so I added it to my cart.

You may ask, _"Hikigaya, why did you get that shirt? That looks a bit childish lol."._

Why? Because batman that's why!

It took me a few minutes to reach the counter, thankfully, the one who replaced the girl at the cashier was quick with his hands, and the line that was quite long before quickly withered and soon, I was next.

"That would be 5300¥ sir."

I reluctantly gave the money that I spent months saving, damn I feel like chickening out now…

After he gave me the change and my new purchases in a bag, and with a cheerful "Thank you and come again!", I got out of the store and looked for a bench to rest on.

An available seat caught my eye, so I made a beeline toward it. With a tired and audible sigh, I finally sat down and began to rub my numb legs. Jogging is more preferable than hanging around in a mall.

I looked at my watch and was quite shocked, I entered this store around 30 minutes ago, so it took me 30 minutes to buy everything I needed. I wonder how Komachi is holding up on her end…

As expected of myself, quick and efficient as always!

My energy reactors are going low, I want to go back home and recharge, but I already promised to hang out with Komachi today…

 _Sigh_

My phone rang and I took it from my pocket, good thing I changed the ring tone, the former one was a generic anime op and I already forgot the title.

"Hello?"

"ONII-CHAN!"

Ouch, that hurt my ear.

"Yes?"

"Well…"

A few seconds of silence and I was already getting annoyed.

"What is it?" I asked again.

"I met a few of my friends and we decided to go together, I totally forgot to tell them that I'm already hanging out with you, and I think it's too late to back out now because it would be rude and I already agreed to go out with them…"

Ah, I see, oh well.

"Well, have fun, I'll be going home then, I already bought everything I needed."

"What?! You're already done?! I haven't even picked one for myself yet!"

Because you are an indecisive airhead, but I didn't feel like roasting her over the phone so I let it pass.

"Who do you think I am? I am at the physical manifestation of efficiency."

"As expected of my Onii-chan! Anyway, I have to go now! I hope the clothes that you picked aren't unfashionable and gross! I'll be the judge of that! I'll buy you some food before I get back home!" Her positivity was so strong that my A.T. field of pessimism can barely hold her back.

"I see, then make sure to buy me something good and don't come home late. Goodbye and stay safe."

"Bye-bye!" And with that I closed my phone and rubbed my ears, her loud shrilly voice did a number of me.

Finally, I am alone!

Finally, I am done!

Finally, I can go home!

With a quickened pace, I made my way to the exit of the mall and made a beeline towards the train station, I wish I brought my bike with me but biking from my house to the mall might be too much, plus, the blistering heat of the sun, I might get a heat stroke.

Half an hour later, I am currently in the train standing up and leaning on one of the metal poles, I gave up my seat to an elderly old woman, because if I didn't, and my mom caught wind of it, she would disown me and force me to commit seppuku using the katana of my great-great-great grandfather.

To pass the time, I opened my phone and began to browse numerous news articles.

American politics? No thanks.

Price of fish on the market? Useful, but I'm not buying fish right now.

The Weather? I sneaked glances at dad's newspaper this morning.

Rodrigo Duterte roasting other politicians? Amusing, I'll read this later

One of the news articles had the word _Chiba_ on it, and that was enough for me to take a closer look.

 _Business Competition in Chiba, encouraged by the Yukinoshitas!_

Hmph, useless news I say, I bet the one who wrote this article was bribed by the Yukinoshitas. Does _real_ news even exist nowadays? Or maybe I am just paranoid and I low-key hate influential rich people?

No, I hate rich people who trample around the working-class citizens and do not give enough credit to their workers who work tirelessly day after day and receive less than what they deserve. The working-class citizens of Chiba need to have their working conditions and salaries improved!

Wait, I sounded like a communist revolutionary…

Ah enough of this, thinking too deeply on this will just give me radical ideas and force me to convince the working-class of Chiba to rise up with me and overthrow the bourgeoise.

So, I just skipped reading the article and began reading about Bears.

I'm hungry again…

That thought crossed my mind as I exited from the train station, with my stomach rumbling, I began to look for a place to fill my hunger. Being the lazy guy that I am, I just bought a large burger and large fries from the nearby McDonalds for take-out and proceeded to walk home.

Around twenty minutes later of walking, thankfully the sun was covered by clouds so I'm still alive, thanks to that, I arrived home earlier than expected and took out my keys and entered our house.

Calling out to anyone inside and not received a reply, I concluded that I am alone at home, mom probably went to her café already to get things ready.

After changing and leaving my shoes, I put the things that I bought on the table and went upstairs to change clothes.

With that done I went downstairs with the silence of our house and began to unpack my lunch. With the food in front of me and the house completely to myself, a small smile came to my face.

"Home sweet home…"


	3. The Reliable Senpai in the Bookstore

In the early neighborhood of Chiba, a young man was reading a book on his dinner table with a hot cup of tea in front of him. In his company was his dear little sister, who often looked up to him, but also looked down on him. Such is the life of siblings all around the world. The girl was watching T.V. with a hot cup of milk on her hand as it was quite cold given that it's still quite early in the morning.

With a bored expression, she scanned through the channels, looking for an interesting show to indulge herself in. But in actuality, she was spacing out and mindlessly pushing on the buttons of the remote and thinking on nothing particular.

Her brother on the other hand, was deep in thought…

 _Beautiful…_

 _Absolutely beautiful…!_

 _It's so beautiful that I'm tearing up…!_

I felt a single tear slide down my cheek as I put down _The Silmarillion_.

"Onii-chan, why are you crying...?" A young female voice asked.

I wiped my tear with the sleeve of my shirt, and I felt a warm and wet sensation on the area where my sleeve and cheek touched.

"I'm crying because the world is cruel, Komachi-chan. I cry for all middle-schoolers who were rejected by their crush. I cry for all boys who waved at someone, only to find out that that someone was waving at a person behind them. I cry for Light Novel authors who have to meet a deadline every other month. My tears are for those who cannot shed them." I said to her.

"…"

"…"

"You know that actually sounded nice at the start but your twisted view on the world ruined it."

"Dearest sister, I believe you were meant to say _enhanced_ it."

She gave me an annoyed look and sighed in defeat.

"Onii-chan, there's black tea on your face." She said as she turned away from me and sipped on her cup of milk.

"Hmm?"

I touched my cheek and it was true, looks like my sleeve had a bit of black tea to it. So, I put down my book and went to the bathroom to wash my face.

After knocking on the door and entering inside. I was greeted with my reflection that caused me to yelp in surprise.

My hair was terrible.

There's saliva stains on my mouth.

My eyes were looking more worse and shady-looking than usual. If a group of hoodlums ganged up on me to steal my stuff, they would probably run away in terror once they see how terrifying and [MENACING] my rotten eyes are.

Truly, Kami-sama has granted me with both a blessing and a curse.

But seriously, I look terrible.

I look more terrible than the anime adaptation of Berserk!

As I washed my face with my hands, I felt the cold-water drip from my face to the inside of my shirt. Given that the water was still cold, it gave me goose-bumps and the hair on my back to stand straight.

For some reason, I took off my shirt in front of the mirror and began examining my upper body.

Well, I'm scrawny and frail looking, that's to be expected. So, this is what your body looks like if you eat yakisoba bread every day at school…?

Wait, given that I ride a bike to school every day, unless it's raining, I should be at least burning the fat that I absorb through unhealthy food, right?

With that, I think I can safely assume that I am at the peak of health. Aside from the fact that my stamina is a bit lacking…

Who am I kidding.

I was about to go out of the bathroom when I remembered something really important.

Hmm, what was that again?

…

…

…

Ah, yes, the part-time job at that bookstore me and Hinata-san visited the other day was scheduled for today at 9am. It's still around 6:15am, so I have 3 hours and 45 minutes to prepare.

What was that bookstore again?

Tatsumi's Bookstore? I think that was it, I wasn't really paying attention to the name of the place on my last visit there.

Who the heck is Tatsumi? Is Tatsumi a guy? It sounds like a surname, maybe it's family owned?

Anyway, I will go inside Tatsumi-san later, maybe I'll find out the secrets behind Tatsumi-san.

Wait, that sounded a wrong for some reason…

With a yawn, I exit the bathroom and go back to the dining room to fetch my book and finish my tea. I see that Komachi has already gotten bored with the T.V. and was fiddling with her phone.

Probably texting her friends.

Pff, what a normie.

Komachi must have felt my stare because it was as if a chill went through her spine and looked up to me with grossed-out eyes.

"O-Onii-chan, do need something?"

"Ah, I'm going to…" I answered, but I stopped halfway.

I forgot that I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about my plan to partake in a part-time job, wait, I believe I mentioned it to Hinata-san and Kawasaki-san…

"I saw this book that was on sale the other day, but I forgot to buy it."

"Ahh, I see…" she said with disinterest as her eyes returned to the screen on her phone.

With that out of the way, I finished my now-cold tea in one go and picked up my book to go upstairs. After putting the book on the bookshelf, I picked up a random t-shirt and my trusty old jeans, oh and my new hat too.

However, when I was about to make my way downstairs, I heard my Mom talking to Dad in their bedroom.

"Hitomi, what do you think? This plan is flawless!" My Father asked, through the sound of his voice, he was a little excited about what they were talking about.

"Hmm, it definitely is an interesting idea Dear, but I'll have to put more thought to it." My Mother replied slowly, but the way she said it, it must be a pretty serious topic.

"Alright, but if you ever change your mind, inform me right away and I'll handle everything."

"Ok."

I believe that was the end of their conversation, because I head footsteps coming towards the door, and the doorknob twisted and opened.

"Oh, good morning Hachi, you are quite early today." My Mother greeted me.

Similar to what Komachi was wearing, Mom was wearing her pajamas.

"Good morning Mom and Dad."

"Good morning Hachiman, your mother is right, you are quite early today, do you have plans?"

Damnit! I just avoided a bullet with Komachi, and now I'm being ganged up by my parents?!

"Ah, I'm going to buy another book today."

"Finished with your book already? Impressive!" Mom gleefully exclaimed.

"Are you going to take the Tokyo Line?" My Father inquired.

"No, I'm only going to commute and ride within the Chiba Line."

My father thought for a bit as mom went ahead downstairs.

"I see, let's go together then and separate at the station."

I was going to go out of the house at 8 o'clock, but Dad is really pushing me to the corner here. Well, it doesn't hurt to be early I guess.

"That's fine with me, when do we leave?"

Without a second to spare, my father replied.

"Now."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

"As in, _Now_ now?"

"Yes." My Father said as he passed me and went downstairs.

"Ok, but I'm the one taking the shower first."

My Dad grunted in reply as I entered the bathroom. I head Mom call to me from the kitchen.

"Hachi-kun! Do you want coffee, milk, or tea?"

"I had tea already, thank you."

I heard her call out to Komachi too, but the sounds disappeared as I closed the door of the bathroom and started to undress.

I let out a relieved sigh as I collapsed into the sofa, Komachi right beside me, still wearing her pajamas.

"Onii-chan I like your hat." Komachi said without looking at me. What is she reading on her phone anyway, do you place your phone on a higher level of required attention than your beloved Onii-chan? That's a big minus for Hachiman points!

"Thanks." I replied as I began to take out my wallet and check the things I need.

"Your hat reminds me of an old lady in China." Komachi gave me a sidelong glance with a cheeky grin.

"Well, thank you for the compliment Komachi-chan. We all know that elderly Chinese people give off an air of knowledge and respect. But alas, I am already aware that I am knowledgeable, but unfortunate circumstances have left to admit that I am not very respectable. So, coming from you, that's a big plus in Hachiman points!" I replied sarcastically.

Komachi gave me a deadpanned look.

"Geez onii-chan, I know that you were going to come up with a lame comeback, but I never expected it to be _that_ lame."

Wow, really? Was it really that lame?

 _*Umm, if you put it on a scale of 1 to 10, we can say that it's around -5! Tehee~!*_

So unfair, that score is even out of the scale already!

And what's with the damned _tehee~!_

Are you a foxy kouhai trying to cunningly manipulate me into doing things for you?!

Hmm, for some reason, I think I accidentally activated a flag there, not sure if it's a good flag or a bad flag though…

"Hachiman, let's go." I heard my Father's voice near the doorway, so I got up to join him.

Of course, as a future author of the book _How to be a great Onii-chan_ , I dutifully patted Komachi's head and bid farewell to her. But surprisingly, she got up and accompanied me to the doorway.

When we went outside, Mom gave me a goodbye kiss to my cheek and Komachi followed suit.

My cheeks reddened in response.

I feel like a husband having my wife see me off to work.

So embarrassing…

"Goodbye and stay safe, you two!" Mom said before she closed the door to the Hikigaya household.

"Bye."

"See you later at dinner." Dad said.

And thus, began our uneventful walk to the station.

Though the sun was shining bright and proud, the scorching heat has yet to reveal its true might, given that it's still early. Looking up, I see a cloudy sky. Hopefully when it starts to get REALLY hot, I hope cloud-san would cover the sun to protect the citizens of Chiba from a fiery demise.

I return my attention to walking, because I might walk into a pole and someone coincidentally caught a video of it. That someone, would then post the video online, which would cause it to spread like wildfire in social media with the title, "Boy from Chiba, walks into a pole and fucking dies."

The last thing I want to do, is to tarnish the good name of Chiba!

"Hey Dad, what time does mom go to her café anyway? "I asked dad a question that's been bugging me for a while now.

"Ah, yes. She stopped opening up at an earlier time because the daily shipments of her supplies were only scheduled at earlier times because of the traffic back in the school year. Now that it's summer, they are much more flexible now that traffic has eased a bit."

Ah, so it's like that huh.

"Hmm, speaking of which, I forgot where her place actually is…"

"It's near the Chiba Business district, or Shopping district, as you would like to call it."

The Chiba Business District was a place where small to large business enterprises were settled to conduct their business operations. Due to the sheer number of shops and such, it's slowly being nicknamed the "Shopping District".

Obviously, the area is quite large. So Dad's reply didn't really help much…

"Hachiman." My father suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I know that it's still too early for me to be asking this, but have you already chosen a possible degree for college? Or at least deciding between the humanities or the sciences?"

"A-Ah.."

Wow, that's REALLY too early to be asking that.

I gave my dad a pained expression.

"Well, it's still too early for me to answer that right now. Even if I did, my response may change three years from now from outside influences, or maybe a change of interest altogether."

"Ah, I see. Well, no need to fret. If you can't decide when that time comes, I'll let you join the company as an undergrad assistant or something." My father offered.

It was times like these that made me realize how lucky I am.

Most fresh graduates would take weeks or even MONTHS to get employed in their first company. Not to mention all the interviews they've done and waiting for the phone call or message that they would receive, informing them of whether they made it or not.

Sometimes, they are forced to be employed in a firm, under the responsibility completely different from the course they graduated in. Which ultimately forces them to adapt to the different environment.

Through adaptation, they will either successfully blend into their new environment, or they would utterly fail in their job, leading them to go back to job hunting once more.

In my case, I already have a place where my father prepared for me.

I can follow my father's footsteps in his college degree, or I can take a law degree and found my own law firm, for example, while being the heir of my father's company.

Hmm, maybe I can be like mom and create my own restaurant or café line? And once it grows, I can set up branches all around Chiba, so that I can monopolize the food industry, while also providing jobs for the local citizens of Chiba!

Should my plan progress further, Chiba will have the lowest unemployment rate in Japan! Maybe even all of East Asia!

Chiba is very lucky that I am born here!

There's still one problem though.

I'm not good at cooking.

But that's one of the things that I want to improve myself in!

"That's a comforting thought." I coolly replied.

"But make sure your grades are always high! I won't accept an employee whose academic performance is below my standards!" My father said with a cheery, but stern tone.

I said nothing but gave a small smile.

We walked in comfortable silence after that, and we passed by the playground where I saw Kei-chan a while back.

I wonder how Kawasaki-san is doing right now?

Kawasaki-san is employed part time in a nearby supermarket, if my assumptions are correct, supermarkets around this area tend to open early in the morning to sell freshly caught fish.

Could it be that a student like Kawasaki-san rises early in the morning to get to her part-time job?

I lack the data to be 100% sure on my assumption, but if it is true, then she is very admirable.

I'm rooting for you, Kawasaki-san!

"Hachiman, did you hear about what your mother and I were talking about in the bedroom?" My Father asked out of the blue, speaking of blue, Kawasaki-san had a beautiful tinge of blue for her hair…

 _*Heheheh, Hikigaya, thinking about a girl this early in the morning, but that's to be accepted because you are a healthy young teen…*_

I'll deal with you later.

"Umm, only the last part…" I replied with a small voice, truthfully, I feel uncomfortable listening on other people's conversations.

But this is one of the abilities, my STAND [108 Loner Skills], it gives me the ability to accurately listen in on people's conversations

"Hmm, I see. Seeing that you already know about it, there's no point in hiding it any further." My father paused before he continued.

"Basically, I have been offered a position as a business partner of a certain bar and café chain, similar to what your mother has here in Chiba. They asked me to invest in their company, and in return, I will get a quarterly return investment equal the percentage we agreed upon.

However, the place to set up shop that they have in plan is actually near you mother's place, to accept their offer would mean that she would have competition. And _that_ competition, is quite more known and famous than your mother's.

Hitomi already informed me that she is planning to set up another branch in either Tokyo or Shinjuku, but I advised her to wait and instead set another branch here in Chiba.

So, with that said Hachiman, where do you stand in this?"

I gave no reply as I walked deep in thought.

One can see the pros of each side, not to mention the cons.

I thought for a bit before replying.

"Frankly, if I were in mom's shoes, I would follow your advice." I didn't want to explain any further, as I believed that my answer was sufficient in itself.

"Good to see that we have the same opinion." Dad nodded to himself.

"Great minds think alike."

I gave a trashy smug grin at me dad and he returned with one too.

"Maybe I'll be able to convince your mother from doing anything too dangerous right now." My Father said with a tired voice.

He must have been trying to convince Mom to go with her plan…

"I hope so, for her to immediately spread out her resources this early, is a bit bold. Notwithstanding that Tokyo is a very competitive and expensive place to set up shop. I believe the proper action should be for her to focus her exploits here in Chiba first." I replied after thinking for a while.

"Yes, not to mention the loses she could incur should things not go according to plan…"

After that short exchange, we talked about trivial things…

The weather

The local news

Politics

My Father complaining about some of his employees.

My Father complaining about his complaining employees.

And of course, what I want to eat for dinner tonight.

In no time, we reached the station.

I know that I was here just a few days ago, but the sheer number of people continue to astound and terrify me.

Good grief, looking at the crowds make me want to vomit.

"Well, Hachiman, I'm headed for Tokyo from here. You're only riding the Chiba local train, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have enough money on you right now?"

"Yeah. Oh, and by the way, we both haven't eaten breakfast yet…"

My stomach thundered in response.

"Oh, I'll just get something to eat at the cafeteria."

Ah, I see. It must be nice having your very own cafeteria…

"I guess I'll just get some bread or something then." I weakly replied.

"Ok, well, stay safe and see you later for dinner."

I doubt that we'll see each other for dinner later though…

We separated after that, and I saw my Father's figure disappear in the crowd of people.

As I got my ticket and passed through security, I was once again appalled by the number of people.

Thankfully, my STAND [108 Loner Skills], has an ability that is quite suited for this situation.

I mentally prepared myself, before I dived into the sea of people in front of me.

This bread tastes nice, I wish I can bake a bread like this so I can eat it every day.

No, scratch that.

I'll give Komachi the materials needed for her to learn how to bake this bread.

So, I don't have to bake it myself.

So I can eat this bread every day.

Truly, my mind is so resourceful.

It's been an hour since Dad and I separated at the station, and I just had a small breakfast.

With so many people around, it makes me feel anxious and self-conscious.

Like I'm going to meet a classmate from middle-school.

With that thought, I felt a shiver run down my spine as I pulled my hat lower to prevent my face from being visible.

How much longer do I have to wait here?!

I'm sitting at one of the benches nearby, because the bookstore hasn't opened yet. My biography paper that I bought on the way here was already filed up and ready to be examined by the manager there.

Just as I was about to get up and visit the local game store, an employee that was visible through the glass opened the door and turned the sign from "closed", to "open".

Finally.

I made a beeline towards the store and I was greeted by the employee.

"Good morning and welcome Sir!" she greeted me cheerfully.

Missing breakfast and having to commute here early with so many people? I don't call that a good morning in my book.

Regardless, I returned her gesture.

"Good morning. I came here to inquire about the part time job."

After I said that, her eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

"Oh, how wonderful! Good timing, Tatsumi-san just arrived! Please follow me."

As I was following her, she looked behind me with a questioning look.

"My name is Shiromeguri Meguri." She said.

What a cute and fluffy name.

Oh, we haven't introduced each other yet, have we?

I stopped walking and she did the same and faced me.

Now that I got a good look at her, Shiromeguri-san looked like a pretty girl. She was taller then me by only a few inches. With her braided dark-brown hair that stopped midway at her back, and her employee uniform that consisted of an orange hat and t-shirt with the bookstore's logo.

And I can tell that she has, umm… _quite_ the assets.

I can vaguely see laugh lines on the sides of her mouth, she must have a cheery and happy personality. She looked like she was older than me by a year.

For some reason, she's giving off this aura of fluffiness and serenity, is that a passive skill?!

"Hikigaya Hachiman." I held out my hand for her to shake.

She made a curious look, but she took my hand and shook it.

Jeez, social norms and customs are such a bother…

But I have to look decent and acceptable if a want to be employed here…

Seeing that did not move an inch, I gave her look that said, _"Umm, do you need anything else?"_

She must have understood it and her words came out in a jumble.

"A-Ah! I'm sorry, I just wanted to ask why decided to inquire here?"

"Well, I don't have anything to do this summer break. So, I decided to find a part-time job somewhere in this area."

"I know right?! Not having to do anything in summer is so boooring! So, I decided to get a part-time job here too!" She said it like she was complaining or something…

"Y-Yeah…"

What's with this girl?

"Also, always going out with your friends tend to wear you out, you know? Everyone needs some alone time every now and then!" She continued and resumed walking.

 _"_ _Not that I would know…I don't have any friends…"_

I thought as I followed her.

"Y-Yeah, t-totally..."

"I'm new here see! I just got here like a week ago!" she said in a cheery tone.

"Ah, I see…"

"Ah! Now that I remember, I screwed up on my first day, and the day after that! Tatsumi-san is kind see, so she helped me get used to things!"

"Hmm.."

She must be very clumsy or an airhead then...

Maybe even both...

She knocked once and we heard a "Come in." from inside. As she opened the door, white walls and a desk were greeted by my eyes. A coffee table, a couch, a shelf with books, and for some reason, a flag of Japan at the desk. The floor was covered in a Persian carpet, and the entire room as enveloped by a pleasant smell, it could aroma therapy.

This office gave off the vibe of a principal's office in school

Sitting behind the desk was a woman with dark shoulder-length hair. Her bangs were to the right side and was held in place by a pink hairclip. Her glasses looked up from the newspaper that she was reading when we entered the room. She looked around thirty-something, though I will give her the benefit of doubt seeing that she looks pretty ho- I mean…you get it…

Also, my mother told me that a shouldn't quickly assume a woman's age. Doing so would incur their wrath.

"Good morning Meguri-chan, I see you have someone with you." She said with a bored tone, as her eyes returned to the newspaper.

"Good morning Tatsumi-san! Hikigaya-kun is here to inquire about the part-time job!"

As I was mentioned, I gave a small bow to Tatsumi-san.

Ah, so Tatsumi-san is actually a female…

"Oh, is that so? Well then, Meguri-chan, can you brew us a cup of coffee?"

"Sure, be right back!" With that Meguri-san disappeared behind the door.

"Please, take a seat."

I followed her instruction and took a seat in front of her desk.

"Thank you for having me. Your office is very nice, by the way." I finally spoke.

"Don't mention it. Now, let's get to business, shall we?" She asked in a very professional tone.

I gulped and mentally prepared myself for the questions that she would ask, and also, I began to create scenarios and topics of conversation that would put the odds in my favor.

Of course, I also began predicting questions that she might ask that might get me off my guard.

Not to mention back-up plans for my back-up plans, should they fail.

 _*Hikigaya, you are overthinking things as usual…*_

Nonsense, I would rather overthink things than to under-think things.

"Welcome, my name is Yuuka Tatsumi, I'm the owner here." Her hand extended in greeting.

"Good Morning, I am Hikigaya Hachiman." I shook her hand and took a seat.

I put my biography on the table and Tatsumi-san reached forward to get it.

"Ok then Hikigaya-kun, tell me about yourself."

"I am Hikigaya Hachiman, fifteen years old. I come from a family of four, both of my parents work and I have a little sister. I will be going to Sobou High at the end of the summer. Also, I have been here in Chiba all my life. I have working experience as a cashier. My hobbies include of playing on my PSVITA and reading books. The only sport that I'm good as is at Tennis."

"I see, why did you decide to have an interest in working here?"

"I have nothing else to do this summer, so I decided to do something productive."

"Tell me about your parents."

"My mom owns a coffee shop and bar near this area, and my father works in Tokyo in a logistics and accounting company."

"Hmm, do your parents know about you coming here?" She asked

I shook my head.

"May I ask why?" She politely added.

"I prefer to stay under the radar for now, but I'm sure that I'll tell them in the future."

"Alright then, we have our reasons. I won't ask any further."

She went quiet after that, most likely thinking of more questions to throw at me. Bring it on!

"You don't like going out with your friends?"

Ok, I'll admit, I did NOT expect that.

I gave an awkward and pained smile at her statement, hoping to get my message through…

I think it got through her as she blinked twice and had a look of understanding.

"O-Oh, sorry for asking. We don't mind introverts working here by the way. This is a bookstore after all, our kind has a high affinity for books and quiet places." She closed her eyes and nodded to herself.

A _Loner's Sanctuary,_ huh?

Wait, _Our_ kind?

I said nothing and nodded.

"We give discounts here for our employees, by the way."

My ears perked up at that statement. It looks like I chose the perfect place!

A grin found its way into Tatsumi-san's face.

"Oh? You like the sound of that?" Tatsumi-san said in a teasing tone.

I looked away in embarrassment.

I feel like being teased, and it's embarrassing. Please stop, if this continues, even my ears will get red.

Is this how innocent boys in my age would feel when a beautiful older woman hits on them?!

"Hahaha, your reactions are so cute…" Tatsumi-san said as she giggled.

I wanted to ask myself if I could go even redder, and I think I answered my own question.

"Well, anyway, you can start today. I'll asses you if you're up for the job at the end of the day."

That was pretty straight forward and fast!

I have to start today? The place is slightly bigger than your average bookstore, and I didn't see any other employees…

"You must be wondering how many of you are there, right?"

"Ah, yes Maam."

"There's only you and Meguri-chan right now. We like to leave the customers to their vices and have as much little customer-employee contact as possible."

That…doesn't sound bad actually.

If I put myself as an example, I don't want to bother employees with my question, their job is already bothersome. I would look for the book that I am looking for myself, and if all else fails, I would ask if that particular book is out of stock. Similarly, I didn't want employees bothering _me._

"I see."

We were interrupted by a knock from the outside, and the twist of the doorknob signaling the opening of the door.

"Sorry for the wait~. Here's your coffee Tatsumi-san, Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-san gave us a mug filled with the caffeine-filled beverage.

We both said our thanks as Shiromeguri-san took a seat in front of me and took a cup for herself.

Why is she drinking with us…?

"Don't be shy Hikigaya-kun, drink up before it gets cold! I already locked the main door temporarily so don't look so nervous." She said and giggled at the last part.

I lifted the mug to my lips because it was only lukeward, and surprisingly, it was sweet.

"Ah, is it too sweet for you? I didn't know your what you liked so I just put a lot of sugar to cover up the bitterness." Shiromeguri-san said with a bit of apprehension.

"No, this is actually how I prefer my coffee." I said as I quickly shook my head.

Shirmeguri-san's eyes widened after I said that.

"What?! But I put a lot of sugar! Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself do drink it you know..."

To prove her wrong, I finished the coffee in one go, and I saw Tatsumi-san, who's been quiet for some reason, have a look of surprise on her face.

"W-Wow."

"He was actually serious…."

I was feeling a bit proud of myself, this level of sweetness is nothing to me!

"Thank you again for the coffe- _buurp"_ A belch escaped from my mouth at the last moment.

…

…

…

…

Please kill me.

The two women, apparently holding their laughter, released them at the same time.

"Hahahaha! That was priceless!" Tatsumi-san exclaimed as she started pounding her desk in merriment.

"I did NOT expect that!" Shiromeguri-san said as she's holding her stomach.

Damn these two women! I feel like a thing to be teased and toyed with!

Regaining my composure, I gave a cough, although my cheeks were still a bit red…

"Anyway, hahaha, Meguri-chan will show you what to do." Having composed herself a bit, Tatsumi-san told the girl in front of me.

"Ok! Hikigaya-kun, follow me!" Her bubbly attitude was a bit annoying, but it was pretty cute.

I got up and followed her as Tatsumi-san bade us goodbye.

It's been two hours since I started.

Shiromeguri-san gave me a spare uniform, and taught me the basics. She showed me the staffroom, stockroom, how to check the inventory and which books belonged in what isle.

I learned quickly, thanks to how simple her methods were.

Right now, I can see her wave at me from the cashier and I waved back. As I pushed the cart that contained the new shipment of books, I dutifully went to isle after isle placing them in each category.

Romance

Classic Literature

Science Fiction

Action

Horror

Psychological Thriller

Biographies

Mystery

The list went on and on until the cart was empty.

Mission Complete! I can feel my experience points increase!

Seeing that my current task is done, I went to Shiromeguri-san to ask on what I should do next.

When I reached her, she immediately gave me thumbs up.

"Good job Hikigaya-kun!"

Ah! So cute! So bubbly!

"T-Thanks, what should I do next?" I asked her

"Hmm…" she put on a thinking pose as she thought on the current situation.

"Ah, yes. Check our inventory and refill the books that are low in number and put them on display. Also, make a note on what books are close to being sold out. Our minimum number should be fifteen for the novels, ten on the educational ones and ten for the magazines and such." She informed me.

I made my way the computer and did as I was told. Making a mental note on the books titles that were low in number, which were not a lot by the way, I went to our stockroom to get the books.

I noticed that there were an average number of people just walking around the store and looking around. Most of them were older than me, most likely college students.

They picked up numerous books like accounting books, medical books, engineering books, management books and so on and so forth.

A small number of them began reading on the spot, or just sat down on the ground. I even saw a group of engineering students sitting against the wall comparing notes on different books that they collected.

Some of them were still wearing uniforms based on the numerous shops in this area. I wonder if they are on a break from their part-time job…

With the cart on my hand I carefully placed the books in the cart. I made sure to be extra careful and not be in a hurry because I might cause an accident and the books might get damaged.

Thus, it took me quite a while to get out from the stockroom.

Not to mention that many of the books were heavy, especially medical, engineering and law books. They were really T HI C C too, and my arms began to sore right after finishing everything. I was covered with a thin sheet of sweat after my ordeal.

When I went out however, I noticed that the customers were gone.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun!" I turned to the voice and saw Shiromeguri-san walking over to me.

"Did you need anything, Senpai?"

Crap! I accidentally said called her senpai without her consent!

I quickly put my hand to my mouth.

"Ah! No worries! Just calling me senpai is fine!"

I won't call her that too soon, it's embarrassing…

"Hikigaya-kun, it's lunchbreak already so you can stop for now."

Oh?

I looked at my watch and what she said was true, it's already 12:00.

"Ah, I see." I pushed the cart into the corner for me to continue later.

"Anyway, did you bring anything for lunch?" Shiromeguri-san asked me.

"No, I'll just eat outside, thank you."

"Ok, if you need anything, me and Tatsumi-san will be in the staff room, we only have one hour for the break so be back here by 1:00!" she cheerfully said as she handed me the key to the main entrance.

"Ok then, see you later." I made my way to the exit and went outside. Through the glass wall, I saw Shiromeguri-senpai walk to the staff room.

Damn, I'm hungry, what should I eat?

I took out my wallet and checked my funds.

Well, I don't have to worry about money though…

I walked around the mall, trying to spot a place to eat.

Ramen would be nice…

I think I saw a ramen house not far from here when I came here with Komachi…

So, I changed my mind and went outside the mall to look for the ramen house that I saw before. After several minutes, I finally saw it and opened the door.

Upon entering I heard a loud "Welcome!", and I turned to see a middle-aged man with an apron, and I returned the greeting with a small nod.

The place was small, but had a homely feel to it. The patrons here ranged from your average corporate slave on their lunch-break, to middle-school kids. It was decorated with the usual stuff you see in ramen houses here in Chiba. I wonder, do ramen houses in different prefectures look the same?

I went and took a seat near the window and the waiter came to take my order.

"What would you like for lunch?" She gave me the menu with different dishes that they offer.

Seeing that this is my first time here, I should go with the flow on the trends and pick a safe option.

"Give me your bestseller during lunch time." I ignored the menu and gave it back to her.

"Ok! _Working-mans' Ramen_ coming right up!" She took the menu and gave my order the chef in charge.

What strange name for a ramen…

After several minutes of waiting, my order was finally ready and the dish was placed in front of me. It was quite larger than I expected, and for some reason, it had a lid covering the bowl. You don't see that every day.

"Here's your order sir! Enjoy your meal!" The waiter cheerfully said.

What's with the sudden increase of positive and enthusiastic people near me?!

"Itadakimasu…" I muttered to myself as I removed the lid on the bowl.

At that instant, my olfactory senses were assaulted with the smell.

"W-What?! T-This-!"

[ Insert food wars scene where the clothes are ripped off with a ridiculous and over the top background.]

"This smell! So powerful! So strong! So good!" as I reveled in the smell of the dish itself, I opened my eyes to fully capture the sight in front of me.

I took the chopsticks and began examining the contents of my food.

"The noodles are cooked to perfection! The boiled egg is in harmony with the broth! The slice of pork with a hint of fat is tender and lean! The onions and fried pieces of garlic are a perfect combination that enhances the strong taste of the ramen! The finely chopped ginger goes well with the meat!"

[ Insert scene where every single ingredient used has a close up and is thoroughly explained as to why it matches perfectly with the dish, and the method on how it was cooked.]

Slowly but surely, I took hold of the Chinese spoon and sipped some of the broth.

"T-This broth! Not only does it complement the ingredients inside, I taste chicken, ginger, ground pepper, and many other herbs that make up the stock!"

With my chopsticks, I got some of the noodles and lifted it to my mouth.

"The noodles combined with the broth-!" I let out a small moan of delight.

[ Insert ahegao Hikki face.]

There was something else in the broth! But I can't put my finger on it!

I lost myself in the dish, and I continued eating with slurping sounds and with no regard to the people around me.

Before long, my bowl was empty, and I sat in a daze savoring the euphoria.

I heard footsteps coming towards me, and I saw the middle-aged man who greeted me a while ago.

"I see you enjoyed your lunch! I made this for people such as yourself!" he said in a loud voice.

I looked at him in, wanting him to explain further.

"Ah, you see, this dish is made for the working man, thus the name stuck to the dish. As you may have noticed, the ramen has a lot of meat in it, proteins and carbohydrates that give a man energy to continue on with his hardwork!"

"Oh, that explains it." I said as I regained a bit of my composure, but for some reason, I was feeling quite dizzy.

The chef looked at me strangely, as if noticing something that he didn't see before. Without a moment to spare, he took my bowl and took a whiff from it.

"Good grief, looks like I forgot to ask if you wanted it without beer."

Wait.

What?

"Oi brat! Get this young man a glass of water!" The chef called and soon a glass of water was placed in front of me.

"What? Are you saying, I'm drunk?" I asked him, I wasn't angry or anything, the feeling was just alien to me.

"Not really, but looks like you have a low tolerance for even small amounts of alcohol." He grinned as I began to drink the water in front of me.

"I assure you that ramen would give you the energy needed to continue with your day at work kid!"

I looked at him, confused at his statement. Then I followed his eyes and looked down.

Ah, I was still wearing my uniform.

"Ah, thank you for the meal, how much was the ramen?" I asked as I fished out my wallet.

The chef then held out his hands and made an X on front of him.

"Please, today's order is on me. This is your first time here after all. Not to mention that we troubled you with the alcohol in the broth." He said sincerely.

"Ah, thank you then." I said as I politely thanked him and began to get up from my seat.

"Don't mention it kid! Be sure to come again!" After he said that, I bowed again to show my gratitude and bade him goodbye.

Guilt forced me to call the chef again, and I bowed once more.

"Thank you for the food." With a last laugh coming from him, I exited the ramen house and was met with the afternoon sunlight.

A satisfying lunch? And I didn't have to pay for it?

That was indeed a nice meal, if I say so myself.

I reached the bookstore with only ten minutes to spare, and with my spare key, went inside to go to the staffroom. Knocking once, I was greeted with the sight of Shiromeguri-senpai taking a nap on the table.

Thankfully, the aftereffects of the alcohol within the ramen was disappearing because I can feel my cheeks return to their natural color.

I still fell a bit dizzy and lightheaded though…

"Oh, Hikigaya-kun, you're here." I looked for the source of the voice and saw Tatsumi-san just exit the manager's room.

She put a finger to her mouth and bid me to come closer.

"Hikigaya-kun, would you be a dear and cover for Meguri-chan for now?" She gave me a sweet smile, her left eye was closed, giving her a cutesy look.

HHHHNNNNGGG

This is so unfair…

"Ok, but what if I get overwhelmed?" I was still pretty nervous about this job and I don't want to ruin my first day.

 _*Hikigaya, you're not even on your "first day" yet, remember? You're still being evaluated by Tatsumi-san. *_

Oh yeah.

"Don't worry! I'll help out this afternoon!" With that said, she gently pushed me to the door.

The last thing I saw before I walked out of the staff room was Shirmeguri-senpai drooling on the table.

I was intimidated by the cashier, now that I have a good look at it. It had so many buttons, and the possibility that I might do something wrong was still in the back of my mind.

But after a several minutes of getting taught by Tatsumi-san, I finally got the hang of it.

And by that, I mean, I irritated a customer because I pressed the wrong button and his change was missing and it took quite some time before Tatsumi-san came to my rescue.

Wretched cashier! Damn you! I will conquer you!

"Ara, Hikigaya-kun, don't look so down, it's really simple once you get the hang of it!" She tried to cheer me up but instead I felt salt on my wounds.

"Yes maam…" I replied, but a figure came to my peripheral vision emitting a bubbly and fluffy passive skill.

"Oh, it looks like Meguri-chan is back! I'll be in my room if you need anything else." She wished me good luck and went back to the staffroom.

Shiromeguri-san walked over to me with a funny look on her face.

"Hehehe, sorry about you covering for me Hikigaya-kun, I guess my nap took too long." She said while scratching her head with a guilty look on her face.

She looked like Komachi when I caught her stealing my cookies, she even has the guilty face to boot.

What is this?! My Onii-chan instincts are being stimulated by a girl older than me?!

I coughed once to clear my head from unnecessary thoughts.

"Well, Tatsumi-san helped me out, so it wasn't a big deal. I didn't do anything much."

"Ah! I see, well let me take over for you. You can go back to refilling the shelves and checking the inventory!" She said.

With that said, I bade her goodbye and went back to the stockroom to replenish the shelves.

Just thinking about it makes by back hurt from all the heavy lifting…

When I went inside the stockroom, immediately resumed my work.

 _Sigh_

This is going to take a while…

After getting the books needed, I went outside and began going to each isle and putting them in place. Time passed by, and only a few books left to shelf for me to finish my task. I looked down and picked up one of the books in the cart, and it was a children's book. A story book, in fact, and it was _Cinderella._

If children knew the full story of this book, this would _never_ be considered as a children's book.

I was about to go to the _children's books_ isle, but a young and familiar voice made me stop on my tracks.

"Saa-chan! Let's buy a coloring book!"

Hmmm…

Saa-chan…

Saa-chan…

…

…

…

…

…

HAA-CHAN!

It's Kei-chan!

From the direction of the voice, I can't tell that they were at my 11 o'clock, fortunately, there was a large shelf to my left, so they wouldn't be within my line of sight unless they were directly in front of me.

I slowly walked back, hoping that they would not turn to this corner.

My heart skipped beat when I saw Keika run past my isle.

I nearly got a heart attack when I saw Kawasaki-san chase her.

RED ALERT!

RED ALERT!

EVASIVE MANEUVRES!

With a rush of adrenaline, I quickly grabbed my cart and began to pull it back to the opposite end of the isle. Seeing that the coast was clear, I made a beeline towards the stockroom but a voice made me stop in my tracts.

"Excuse me, do you know where the children's book isle is?" Kawasaki-san asked behind me.

My blood ran cold and I can hear the pounding of my heart.

But…

Wait…

Why am I exaggerating?

Why do I feel that I am about to be caught cheating on my wife?

Am I in a comedy skit?

Am I in a comedy anime?

Why am I scared of this present situation?

With those thoughts in my mind I was about to reveal my true identity, lol, but I was once again interrupted by another feminine voice.

"Ah, of course! Please follow me!" said Shiromeguri-senpai.

In my haste, I did not notice the presence of Shiromeguri-senpai near me, and it was _her_ that was being called by Kawasaki-san.

It would have been really cringe-y if I turned around, only to discover that I was not the one being called. The thought itself makes me want to commit seppuku.

I saw Kawasaki-san and Kei-chan follow Shiromeguri-senpai from the corner of my eye, they didn't even bother to give me a second look.

It's good to see that my presence was still low as usual.

Seeing my chance, I pushed the cart and quickly went towards the stockroom and closed the door behind me, damn that was close!

I realized that all of the tasks that I was assigned to were already done, and now I have nothing else to do. I waited a few minutes in the room until assumed that it was safe to go out.

Peeking outside of the room, and seeing that the coast was now clear, I took a clean rag from one of the closets and began carefully wiping the books in the shelves that were accumulating dust.

A pity, to see books wither in the dust left unread.

Time passed by as I did my labor.

I thought that mere minutes had passed, only to find out that its actually been hours.

For a moment, I was struck by how hollow and unthinking my mind was as I was doing my job, like I was a robot programmed to do nothing but work.

Is this how corporate slaves do their daily work in the labor camps?!

My heart goes out to all corporate sla -I mean _regular office workers_.

As I was nearing the end of my task, something touched my back and I gave out a rather unmanly sound.

 _Kyah!_

I heard I similar sound behind me, and I turned around to see whoever disturbed by monotone task, I was greeted by the sight of Shiromeguri-senpai.

"Ah! I'm sorry for startling you Hikigaya-kun!" I can tell she was suppressing a giggle because her mouth was twitching.

"We're nearing closing time." Shiromeguri-senpai said.

"Ah, ok."

Finally! I can go home!

"You can go on ahead, Hikigaya-kun. I still have to submit a daily sales report to Tatsumi-san."

I nodded to her as I went to the staff room to get a change of clothing. I was still wearing the staff shirt, and my lame shirt was still in the locker.

After changing back to my old shirt, I went to Tatsumi-san to inform her that I am about to leave. Knocking on the door and receiving a "Come in!" from the other side, I pushed it open and went inside.

When Tatsumi-san saw that it was me, she stopped typing on her PC and gave me a thumbs up.

"Yosh Hikigaya-kun! You passed today's test! I will be looking forward to your hard work tomorrow!"

"Ah, I see. Thank you for having me." I bowed low to her to show by gratitude.

"What's with the dull response? Anyway, you can go on ahead. Me and Meguri-chan still have to deal with some loose ends, also, you can have this." She took something from her drawer and put it on top of the table.

"You said you liked sweet things, yeah? So, have this as a gift." She said as my eyes were focused on the object on top of the table.

C-Could it be?

My one and only beverage for refreshment?

The drink that most people would avoid because of its overly-sweet taste?

MAXX COFFEE?!

I took the can to my hand and held it close to my heart.

"Thank you, Tatsumi-san."

"Geez, what's with you? It's just coffee you know. Anyway, you should go home and get some rest. Be here 9am sharp for tomorrow, ok?" Tatsumi-san said.

"Ok."

With a final thank you and goodbye to her, I departed from her room to exit the store and go home.

"Ah, Hikigaya-kun!" The voice of Shiromeguri-senpai called me from behind.

"Shirogeguri-san, did you need anything?" I asked her rather too fast, I was quite eager to go home you see.

"You forgot your hat." True to that, she brought my hat that she hid behind her in front of me.

Ah, how could I forget? My trusty white hat that protected me from being recognized in public, making me avoid confrontations from my acquaintances back in middle-school.

Well, not like I had any acquaintances anyway…

"Ah, thank you. Sorry for bothering you, Shiromeguri-san." For some reason, she pouted when I said that.

"Hikigaya-kun, I told you to just call me "senpai"."

Heck no, that would be too embarrassing. And for a self-conscious person such as myself, the embarrassment factor would be multiplied tenfold due to my character trait, that being the LONER trait.

"Ahaha, I see. Maybe next time then, Shiromeguri-san." At my reply, she sighed in defeat.

She puffed out her cheeks at my reply.

HHHHNNNNGGGG, MY HEART!

So cute!

"Geez, you're so stubborn. Anyway, see you tomorrow, Hikigaya-kun! Don't make me get your forgotten belongings for you gain tomorrow!"

"Goodbye, Shiomeguri-san."

After that, I exited the bookstore, or should I call it my workplace now?

Regardless, I began my journey to the Chiba station that would get my home.

But I had one thought on my mind.

"Shiromegu- _ouch!"_ I unknowingly said the words out loud.

…

…

…

Her name is truly a mouthful to say every time, I even bit my tongue. I can taste the metallic taste of the red liquid.

I arrived home at around 6:30pm, and the sky was already dark.

When Komachi opened the door, she was wearing an apron over herself. She was probably wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt on top because she looked like she was wearing nothing underneath.

"Welcome back, Onii-chan! Would you like dinner, a bath, or," She cutely leaned herself to me. Oi! If the neighbors see this, they might get the wrong idea!

"Wa-ta-shi?" She finished her sentence. Good grief, what a cliché statement. It has lost its effect on me because I have seen this scenario numerous times in my Light Novels.

So, I basically gave her my trademark deadpanned bored look, and walked past her. Utterly ignored, she began to hit my back with her small fists.

"Hey! Why are you not embarrassed?! I saw it work on the anime that I was watching!" She said with her high-pitched voice.

Upon the sound of her voice, Kamakura, our cat who was lying on top the sofa, meowed as if to welcome me home and trotted over to me.

Sometimes, I even forget that he lives here with us.

"Your Hachiman points are low, that's why it has no effect on me." I said as I sat down and took off my shoes. Kamakura jumped on to my lap which caused me to be slightly startled.

"How can I get more Hachiman points right now?" I looked up and she gave me a curious look.

Hmm…

"You can prepare a bath for me, if you want." I said nonchalantly.

"Haiii!" With a cheery tone, she went towards the direction of our bathroom.

Komachi has always been cheery, but I am getting slightly suspicious of her actions…

After I took off my shoes and put down Kamakura on the floor, I made my way to the sofa and basically collapsed into it.

I'm so tired.

The crowds in the station and in the mall never fail to give me a headache and post-traumatic stress disorder.

For an introvert such as myself, I need to recharge and get some alone time.

I felt Kamakura lay next to my head and began licking my hair.

I feel like a kitten…

For some reason, Kamakura has been a lot friendlier to me for the past few months. Though he was never hostile to me before, I think he always regarded me as "uninteresting", and therefore, never game me his attention.

Maybe he has a hidden motive too…

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the sound of Komachi calling my name.

"Onii-chan! The bath is ready!" I heard her voice from somewhere inside the house.

I groggily rose from the comfort of the sofa and made my way to the bathroom.

True to her words, Komachi prepared the bath, and even brought me a change of clothes.

Hmm… So suspicious…

Several minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom, feeling clean and refreshed. I dried my hair with the towel and went towards the dinner table.

I was met with the sight of grilled fish, miso soup, some side salad and rice. The smell of the food made my stomach growl.

A very fine dinner, niceu, very niceu, Komachi-chan!

I sat on the table and called Komachi to eat with me. She answered me from upstairs and walked down and sat in front of me.

""Itadakimasu."" We said in unison and began eating.

A few minutes in to the meal, she began to start a conversation.

"Ne, Onii-chan, where were you today?" she asked.

Ha! I was expecting this! I already made contingency plans and back up plans in case a situation like this arose!

"Ah, I was going to mom's place this morning, but I got lost. So, I just looked around the bookstores and gaming centers in the area I guess." I made sure to sound as convincing as possible, so I looked her into the eye to show that I am not hiding anything.

"But you didn't buy anything?" she inquired.

"The titles on sale didn't appeal to me, and the light novels that I planned to buy, I cancelled them because I forgot to look up the reviews online."

"What did you have for lunch? You better eat properly, otherwise no girl will like you. Kyah! I bet that was high in Hachiman points!" she squealed.

"I had ramen for lunch." I replied before having a sip of the miso soup.

"Onii-chan, eating ramen every day is not healthy, you know..."

I grunted in reply.

I was expecting her to continue the conversation, but we soon fell into comfortable silence.

"So Oniichan, how was my dinner?" She said as she picked up the dishes for washing. I offered her my help but she politely refused.

"It was great. That was worth a lot of Hachiman points." I replied as I was squatting while giving Kamakura his food for the night.

"Yay!" she happily said.

You can't keep up this _nice girl_ façade forever! I'm onto you! My _nice girl_ alarms have been going crazy as soon I set foot here!

Reveal your true name, vile demoness!

"Ne, Oniichan." She said as she finished washing the dishes and began putting them back inside the drawer.

"Hmm?"

She turned around with her hands behind her, her face adorning a cute expression. Her head slightly tilted and her eyes looking directly at me while her upper body was leaning towards me. This stance is dangerous to guys everywhere!

"You see, Mom decided to go overtime this Sunday at her shop…" she said.

"Ok…" I replied as I went back to the sofa.

"She told me to do the chores that day because Dad won't be able to come home on that day because he has a business trip…"

Hmm, Sunday is the day after tomorrow…

"And my friends and I all have plans on that day, soooo…" she said as her eyes roamed around the room, refusing to meet mine.

"You want me to do the all the household chores for you?"

"Gotcha!" she said as stuck out her tongue and put her knuckle on her head in a ditzy pose.

Stop that please. That pose is stupid and I feel my I.Q. decrease whenever I see that.

"Ok." I replied nonchalantly as I played with Kamakura's paws.

"W-What?! So quick to reply?! I was expecting complains from you!" she said in a surprise tone.

"Well, if household chores are needed for me to do for me to if have the whole house to myself for an entire day, then it's an acceptable trade." Kamakura gently withdrew his paws and ran away.

Komachi gave a sound that I assumed was of delight and she gave me a hug from behind.

"Yay! Be sure to clean up properly! I'll tell my friends how I tricked you and how you easily fall for things like these!"

Oh please, I saw this coming from a light-year away. I turned my attention to my phone, but my silly Imotou hugged me from behind and began saying how she will pay me back in the future.

"That's a low on Hachiman points. Now go and brush your teeth, I can still smell the fish on your breath." I said.

Komachi quickly retracted her hands from behind me and I heard her breathe in to her hand and smell into it.

"Onii-chan! Even though you're right, that was a low on Komachi points! Plus, you ruined the mood!" she said as she ran the bathroom.

Good grief.

I knew this cheeky brat was planning something…keeping up with the nice girl act...

That is why, I will always keep my guard up around nice girls…


	4. WRITER'S COMMENTS!

Hello everyone! Ivanov117 here!

 _*dodges bottle of wine thrown at me*_

I'm terribly sorry for the late 3rd chapter update. I was unable to make any progress because, last November, around the time when I submitted the 2nd chapter, my Mother and I went to Israel for a few days see.

And when I went back to school, I was bombarded with SOOO many exams, projects and assignments!

There was a subject that I was part of a group, and when I came back, they didn't even make any progress! So, I had to do everything, as usual.

A wise man once said;

 _It's better to go alone in a group project with confidence in your skills, that join a group of lazy-ass suckers!_

-Me

Not to mention that two weeks after that was our Midterms!

Anywaaaay…

With that said, I enjoyed writing the 3rd chapter, especially the ramen scene. I was reading your reviews and someone said that Hinata-san is an OC, well, we'll find out soon enough. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I have a question though. Should I keep making the same amount of words per chapter [9-10k], or just divide them into 5k-6k words per chapter?

Your reviews are very much appreciated! Don't be shy to share your opinions!

It's a bit late for me to say this but…

MERRY CHIRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!


	5. The Business Trip

_The towering buildings of Tokyo, and the light they emit can be seen from outer space. The capital of Japan, and also home of the current Emperor, it is no doubt one of the most famous cities on Earth._

 _It is inhabited by millions of Japanese citizens, as well as tourists that visit the city for its iconic places._

 _Thus, Tokyo wields a large number of hotels in the region._

 _Of these hotels, a small number carries prestige, extravagance and luxury known throughout Japan and around the world._

 _And within one of these hotels, hold our protagonist. Staring silently into the sky of Tokyo…_

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

I look down on the view below me, we are at the 45th floor of our hotel room.

Cars down the road, some stuck in traffic.

Crowds of people waiting for the stop sign on the road, and walking together in unison to cross it, almost like a hive-mind. They are so small that they look like ants.

Numerous buildings, holding massive billboards advertising products and services. From shampoo, smartphones, apartments and universities, to travel packages, hotels and telecommunications.

I crane my head above, and see airplanes flying off to who knows where…

The cloudy sky above, the sunbeams peeking from the gaps between the clouds…

Looking straight, the peak of Mt. Fuji, if today was around mid-November, snow would have covered its peak by now.

To my left lies the direction of the Emperor's Palace and Meiji Shrine. It's probably packed with tourists right now. Meiji Shrine of course, the Palace is forbidden to outsiders.

To my right, if I stand on my tip toes, I can see the top of Tokyo Tower.

I sigh, my breath lightly covering the glass with moisture, only to disappear instantly.

"Dad, why are we here?"

I heard a grunt behind me, and the sound of something collapsing on a bed.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We're here for a business trip. I've been invited so I brought you along with me." My Father replied.

"You didn't even tell me. After I did the chores, you came home and surprised me by saying, "Pack up your clothes, we're going to Tokyo.", and here we are, that was only an hour and a half ago, by the way."

I turned around and went to the nearby leather single-sofa and pushed it towards the window so I can sit down while watching the view. Also opening a few buttons on my dress shirt in the process.

"Yes, I'm sorry for disturbing your alone time on a pleasant _early_ Sunday morning, but I just _had_ to bring you with me! I want you to see what I do." My Father said.

"Seeing you attend a party with influential people and chat with them, while sipping wine to keep up appearances?" I picked up my water bottle and began to drink, I haven't had any water since we arrived so my throat was dry.

"Don't forget the chance to meet with prospective business partners!" He added.

I turned around and gave him an accusing look.

"Oh, come on, don't give me that look. You know how Komachi might get a bit uncontrollable, plus she's too young to attend events such as these. So, by process of elimination, you were best option."

"What about Mom?"

"I don't want to trouble your mother any further. She's already a lot busier at the weekends. Knowing her, she would insist that you would come here with me." My father sighed as he began taking off his black coat jacket. He took them off and put them in the fancy closet, leaving him with a white long sleeved formal shirt and a red tie.

I gave no retort, seeing that he was actually right.

I sighed…

But still…

I even forgot to bring Vita-chan with me!

I could be going for one of the girls in my dating sim game!

The friendly and hyper childhood friend.

The tsundere loli.

The shy and smart quiet girl.

And of course, the last one, who for some reason, provides no route and options whatsoever, should you choose to court her…

Strange…

"Hachiman, the schedule of events later this evening is inside this folder." My father said as he handed me fancy looking folder with over the top designs.

"I'll be out for a bit, I still have to wait for my other business associates…" my father added as he went to the door, I can practically see his aura of exhaustion emit him.

The man just wants to rest a bit and you take it away from him! Who does his associates think they are huh?!

"Ah, ok. See you later." I called out as I heard the door to our room close.

 _Sigh_

I take out my phone, out of boredom and see that I had missed a call from Mom.

Pressing dial, I put the phone to my ear and wait for her to answer.

After several moments, she finally picked it up.

"Hello, Hachi-kun! How is Tokyo?"

"Good morning Mom, Tokyo is fine, I guess…" I say with a disinterested phone as my eyes followed a news helicopter from outside.

"What's with the bored tone? You should be thrilled! You're staying at one of the most expensive hotels in the world! I heard that it's a pretty nice hotel!" My mother said with enthusiasm.

"Just because it's expensive, doesn't mean it's nice. If you take a person's interest on the table, the term "nice hotel" becomes vague and subjective." I reply in a bored tone.

"Geez, there you go again. Stop looking too deeply into things. Anyways, be sure to behave and bring us some souvenirs, ok?"

"Mom, Tokyo is just a train away…" I say while sighing.

"Your Father told me that there's a party later, make sure to be on your best behavior, ok?" Wow she utterly ignored me right there.

"Yes yes…" I feel like a child…

"What are you doing right now?" My Mother asked.

I look at the view in front of me.

"Looking outside the window, on the 45th floor of our hotel room and contemplating the meaning of life." I reply with a sarcastic tone.

"Oh my! That's quite high!" She exclaimed.

"Ok now Hachi-kun, I want you to get up and take a look inside the closet." I raised my eyebrow at her sudden request.

"Why?"

"Just do it, there's a surprise inside~!"

With a sigh, I get up from the comfort of the couch and began to make my way towards the cabinet.

"What's inside?" I asked.

"Just open it!" My Mother said in an impatient tone.

Good grief, it feels like I'm talking to Komachi…

With a push, the cabinet smoothly opened and revealed its interior.

I saw my Father's jacket, a few spare hangers, a metal safe, some towels and two pairs of indoor slippers. Oh, and a fancy looking small box.

After taking a quick look, I judged that there was nothing out of the ordinary, except for the box of course.

"There's nothing here…" I said.

"Look a little closer~."

I oblige, and true to her word, I see something behind my Father's jacket which was in the dark part of the cabinet. I reached into it and took it in my hand.

It was a black formal suit, complete with a red tie and slacks. The soft fabric was pleasant to the touch.

As I was admiring the apparel in front of me, I noticed something near my feet and I crouched down to inspect what it is.

Beautiful black leather shoes were revealed, newly polished and clear of usage. The sleek design and soft footing for the heels made it look more impressive to look at.

This is the kind of shoes James Bond would wear.

As I straightened up, something fell from the pocket of the suit.

I went down and picked it up, it was a piece of paper with some words written on it.

 _To our wonderful son_

 _We hope you love this gift!_

 _-Love, Mom and Dad_

…

…

"I found it." I said in a small voice.

"Wellll?" I mother asked in a teasing tone.

"It's quite nice..."

My Mother began to giggle on the other side of the phone.

"We got that for you a week or two ago. Your father informed me before hand of the event and his plans to bring you along, so we got this for you as a gift."

"A gift for what, exactly?" I asked.

"A gift for having the highest entrance exam scores in Sobou High! You got all of them perfect, Haa-chan!"

I see, so the school notified the parents first huh…

Good grief, here she goes again, with that nickname…

I did not immediately reply, but gave a small smile.

"Well, that's to be expected! It pains me to think that you would think that I would accept something no less of perfection, dear Mother!" I reply in a smug tone.

I hear my Mother laugh at my words.

"But seriously, thank you." I said those words full of conviction and gratitude.

"It's no biggie! You deserve no less, Haa-chan! There's another surprise in there! Do you see a fancy looking small box?" My Mother added.

"Yes, and emphasis on the "fancy" part." I reply as I took the box to my hand.

"Open it!"

Putting down my new pair of shoes, and putting my new suit on to the bed, I make my way to the table.

After sitting down, I began to carefully open the box, curious of its contents.

When I opened it, a very expensive looking watch greeted my sight. I saw the logo of Rolex on it.

The watch was not too big and bulky looking, but neither was it too small. I felt like it would suite my scrawny wrist quite perfectly. The crown of the watch was gold plated, while the glass was nigh indestructible, as stated by the manual that I was currently reading.

That's obviously a lie.

That's marketing right there folks!

Instead of regular numbers, time was presented as Roman numerals that gave it a classier look. I carefully took it from the box and began putting it onto my left wrist.

With a click, the strap was in place, and it was lighter than it looked.

The silver color of the watch shined brightly when aligned with a light source, and made all the more eye-catching.

"Well Haa-chan, how does your new watch feel? Does it suit your style?" she asked.

"Yeah…"

Mom went quiet for a bit before continuing. But I broke the silence first.

"Mom, this is a bit- "she cut me off before I could finish.

"Ara, don't sweat the small stuff Haa-chan! Just take the gifts and wear it with pride!"

Well, with my gifts that I received just now, it makes me uncomfortable that the net worth that I received is _SIGNIFICANTLY_ higher than the yearly income of your everyday average office worker…

"Also, today is an important occasion! Today marks the first of many parties that you have to attend with your father!" My mother said cheerfully.

…

…

…

…

…

What.

 _It was at this moment, that our main protagonist's mental functions began to break down._

 _Eventually, Hikigaya Hachiman stopped thinking…_

I was dumbstruck.

"Just kidding!" My mother said and broke into laughter.

Ah, I think my mental functions stopped for a moment. I think I saw the gates of Heaven before me…

"Mom, don't make jokes like that please, you don't want to lose your first born due to a heart attack, would you?" I said with a heavy heart.

"Of course not! With that said Haa-chan, your Father and I just wanted you to look and be at your best, that's all!"

"I see..."

From the other side of the phone, I heard someone calling my Mother's name.

"Ah! Hachi-kun, we'll talk later! It looks like it's getting busy on my end!" My mother said with a hint of urgency.

Finally, she dropped that kiddie name…

"Ok Mom."

"Rest up and prepare for this evening, ok? I love you!" My Mother said.

Geez, this is embarrassing.

"I love you too…" I mutter with my cheeks slightly red.

I heard the call drop, and silence returned to our hotel room.

The silence was deafening.

After several moments of collecting my thoughts, I got up and began to carefully store my belongings and went back to my seat in front of the window.

A chill went up my spine as I thought that Mom wasn't kidding on her "joke".

Suddenly, something hit me.

"Wait, Mom called me Haa-chan, but for some reason, someone called me Haa-chan too recently…"

…

…

…

…

"Oh yeah, it was Kei-chan…" I say out loud before the warm embrace of sleep took hold of me.

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

I awoke with a start; my phone rang with its message tone.

For a moment, I forgot where I was, and I thought I was kidnapped.

With an audible yawn, I got my phone, that was between my legs for some reason, and opened the notifications.

 _Sender: Dad_

 _Hachiman, I'm out with a few colleagues for lunch. I called room service to bring your food up._

Nice move Dad.

I immediately sent my reply.

 _Receiver: Dad_

 _Roger, I just woke up from my nap._

*send*

I looked at the time and it was already 11:00 am.

So, I was asleep for about 2-3 hours, give or take.

Because I woke up early this morning to finish up the chores, and had to travel here by train, I wasn't able to get a wink of sleep by the way, I was basically exhausted when we arrived here with our luggage.

Hmm…

Dad probably placed the gifts here last night, seeing that his company office was here on Tokyo.

Quite crafty, if I say so myself…

I stretched my body and felt joints pop all over the place.

As I got up, I heard the doorbell ring, and made my way towards it.

When I opened it, the hotel staff was standing with my food on the tray.

"Good morning Mr. Hikigaya, your lunch is here." She said.

Nodding at her, I made a move to receive the tray, but she gave me a weird look.

"Sir, let me place it on the table for you."

Oh

 _*cringe*_

Well, that was embarrassing.

Trying to play it cool, I grunted in reply and moved the door wider for her to enter.

She carefully placed the tray on the table and began to make her way back to door.

"Thank you." I said while giving her a slight bow.

"You're quite welcome Sir, enjoy your lunch! If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call the lobby."

I closed the door.

I was honestly thinking on whether I should give her a tip, but then I forgot that we live in Japan where tips are often seen as insulting and offensive to the receiving end.

With that social awkwardness avoided, I walk to the table and begin to inspect the food my father sent. So, I sat down and lifted the tinfoil off the food.

Korean-style spicy grilled chicken topped with herbs and spices, Indonesian chicken curry, three sticks of kebabs with grilled pepper, beef, onion, chicken and pork, a slice of pizza with mozzarella, beef, mushrooms, black eyed peas and onion, a lasagna with some garlic bread, and lastly, a slice of moist chocolate cake.

Oh, and some pineapple juice.

What the heck, there is no rice?! This is ridiculous!

But who am I to complain about free food?

…

…

…

I began my lunch with some lasagna and next up was the Korean-style spicy grilled chicken. At that point, I was full to bursting, so I just grabbed the food and placed them inside the small fridge that was provided inside the room.

They even have a microwave and an electric boiler too, how convenient.

Instinctively, I began to look for some tea to wash the oily and greasy food, but there was none to be found.

Good grief, now I have to go outside…

I texted my Dad that I was going out for a bit, and grabbed the keycard to our room. With the door shut and locked, I made my way to the elevator.

My ears picked up something behind me, and from the corner of my eye, I saw a figure walking towards me.

All thanks to my STAND, [108 Loner Skills], which gave me superior senses due to me being a loner back in middle-school.

My sense of sight was trained due to me trying to remember my classmate's movement patterns in class.

My sense of hearing, always trying to listen on other people's conversations.

My sense of smell, always on alert for farts within my vicinity, because I always get blamed for it.

My sense of taste, constantly fearful and sensitive to the slightest change in flavor because my classmates might have messed with my food.

My sense of touch, heightened when I was still a chunni and I would pretend to feel rocks that I found along the road for prophesies and foretell the future.

 _*Hikigaya, you sound like the ultimate stalker*_

I will take that as a compliment, thank you.

The figure was actually a girl, and she was still several meters away from me. Turning around and ignoring that person, I walk towards the elevator.

Being on the 45th floor can be annoying, the elevator said that it's still on the 15th floor.

Good grief, this is going to take a while…

Once more, I picked up the sound of footsteps behind me, nearing my position.

In a few moments, whoever was walking would be directly behind me.

The girl from earlier stopped to my left, she was waiting for the elevator too. I take a step away from her and begin lightly tapping my foot to the anime intro that was playing in my head.

 _*Insert Neon Genesis Evangelion OP*_

Finally, the elevator doors opened, and revealed to be empty of occupants.

I turned to the girl beside me, and held out my hand to the elevator in front of me in an "After you." gesture.

She acknowledged me with a nod and I followed after her.

"What floor will you be getting off to?" I asked her.

"The café at the 50th floor, if you would." She said in a pleasant voice.

I pressed the button to our corresponding floor and the door to the elevator silently closed in front of us.

She was standing on the leftmost side, looking at the distance.

The elevator had a glass wall so we can see the view as we go up and down the hotel.

For a while, I leaned on my side and stared off into space outside. I discreetly observed the female behind me, and she was showing signs of discomfort.

She wore a yellow polo shirt and white skinny jeans, nothing special, but it was her beauty that caught my attention.

Her long hair, dark as the night, flowed freely and shined in the sunlight that permeated through the windows. One can see at a single glance that her strands of her were silky smooth.

Her fair smooth skin, radiated femininity and purity.

Her pale blue eyes were beautiful, even I can see that from this distance.

The facial features that she possesses would make any woman blue with envy. Her nose was cute, her lips were small and supple and her cheekbones were perfect.

The nape of her neck, lightly covered by the collars of the shirt she was wearing, was immaculate.

But her chest was non-existent.

I quickly looked away, suddenly self-conscious of myself and my surroundings. My hands wandered all over my body by their own, intent on straightening my clothes and making myself look more presentable looking.

I can lightly see my reflection from the glass.

My white long-sleeved dress shirt, which my Father forced me to wear, looked ok, and my black jeans showed no signs of damage. I looked down to take a look at my oxford shoes were and they were looking fine.

Suddenly, my phone rang in my pocket, and it showed that my Father was trying to call me. I pressed the button and put the phone to my right ear.

"Dad, did you need something?" I asked.

"Hachiman, did you already have your lunch?" my Father asked. I can vaguely hear the sounds of people talking in the background.

"Yes, but it was too much so I put it in the fridge. I'm on my way to the cafe to look for some tea."

"I see, I'm in my friend's room right now talking about something important."

"Ok." With that, our brief conversation ended and I closed my phone.

At the same time, the elevator doors opened and in front of us was the lobby.

I briskly walked out, leaving the mysterious girl behind and intent to avoid people now that my social anxiety and self-conscious issues have been activated. I followed the signs to where the café was located.

Several moments after I exited the elevator doors, I now found myself in front of the café establishment within the hotel.

 _Café Luna…_

A member of the staff opened the door for me and led me to a seat near the window at my request. I take a look around, red carpets on the floor, the walls were of cream colored. The bar was at the right side, holding a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

The windows were quite large, and a door that leads outside to the balcony can be seen too. There were also tables outside, should a customer decide to sit under the stars.

This place would be nice at night.

All in all, the place had a good ambiance and went well with the slow instrumental music that played in the background. The sunlight pierced through the windows, and I can see dust particles float in the air.

As I sat down, I saw the girl that was at the elevator take a seat a table away from mine. We locked eyes for a few moments, before I was interrupted by the waiter.

"Good afternoon sir, what would you like to order?"

"Black tea please."

With my order on the way, I fished out my phone to kill time. Looking around, it was only me and the girl that was present in the café.

"What about you Ma'am? What would you like to have this afternoon?" I hear the waiter ask the girl.

"Black tea, that's all thank you." She said in a calm voice.

Unfortunately, I did not find something that piqued my interest. But I saw a message from Komachi.

 _Sender: Silly Imotou_

 _Onii-chan! I forgot to tell you that I had a slumber party at my friend's house yesterday, that's why I wasn't at home last night!_

 _I'm at home watching Pretty Cure with Kei-chan and Kawasaki-nee because I bumped into them this morning when I went back home!_

 _I'm sorry for making you worry, I promise I'll be more careful next time! Kyah! That earned me a lot of Hachiman points!_

I-it's not like I was worried about you or a-anything! Idiot!

I am honestly surprised how quickly she can have friends, that's my little sister for you!

I wanted to tell her to record the episode for me to watch when I come back home, but I was scared Kawasaki-san might see the message and call me weird for watching an anime that's targeted to young girls.

A single episode missed is better than the humiliation I might face!

Covering my mouth, I gave a yawn and popped my knuckles. I looked outside and stared off into the sky of Tokyo.

Ah, Mom told me to buy souvenirs…maybe I should buy one for Kei-chan and Kawasaki-san too…oh, I mustn't forget about my cute senpai and kind manager at work…

 _Sigh…_

The things I do for the sake of social norms…

But still, Tokyo is just a train away…

 _Sigh…_

Several minutes later, I hear footsteps coming towards me, and I turn around to see the waiter carrying my order.

"Sorry for the wait Sir." He said while slightly bowing.

I thank him for his service and he leave me to my thoughts.

Because I have a cat's tongue, I take the tea and lightly blow into it to cool it down. Should I immediately sip into it like an unwashed savage, my tongue would be burned and I would be labeled as Red-Tongue-kun.

Finally judging that the tea was safe for drinking, I slowly drink it and savor the bitter taste. I close my eyes and I can already feel the contents within my stomach begin to wash away.

The mysterious girl, however, had yet to touch her drink and was still staring at the scene outside. I heard her sigh, she must be pretty sad or frustrated.

Hmm, I she waiting for someone, I wonder?

With that in mind, I enjoy my tea, while occasionally looking at my phone to check out the latest Light Novel titles.

Suddenly, the door to the café opened, and I turned around to see a girl.

I do a double take because she looks similar to the girl a table away from me. She wore black jacket over a loose white sleeveless blouse, the slim fitting red skirt that enhanced her hips made my brain think of indecent thoughts.

Also, her chest area was quite generous, unlike the girl in front of me…

 _ZEN MODE!_

 _INNER NIRVANA!_

 _THE MATERIAL PLANE IS TEMPORARY, THE SPIRITUAL PLANE IS INFINITE!_

With those thoughts, I take a breath to compose myself and not look like an ogling creep.

They must be sisters. My theory was enforced when she looked around the nearly empty café, and spotted a mop of silky black hair.

"Yukino-chaaaann~!" she called out and went skipping towards the girl sitting near the window. I noticed the girl in front of me give a sigh, and turn her head away from the source of the sudden noise.

Instinctively, I frowned at loud girl, and she noticed my glare.

She gave a wry smile, which I understood as an apology and continued to her destination.

With my enhanced senses, I hear an audible sigh coming from, I assume as the little sister.

"Nee-san, what do you want…" She sighed in exasperation, closing her eyes and putting her hand on her brow.

"Do I need to have an excuse to see my cute little sister?" The older girl said.

I'll just call her Onee-sama.

Onee-sama, step on me please! I am your man-slave and I promise to follow your wishes! Give me the punishment I deserve!

 _*Hikigaya, we didn't know that you were a sadist and a masochist too…*_

Shut up, don't judge me.

I tried to return my attention to my tea, but my ears were unwilling to cooperate.

I hear another audible sigh. That's it, I'm calling you Sigh-san!

Onee-sama, lol, took a seat in front of Sigh-san, effectively blocking my view of Sigh-san's reactions to Onee-sama's provocations.

"Ne, ne, Yukino-chan, Mother and Father received the notice of your entrance exam scores in Sobou High." Onee-sama said as a matter-factly.

What a small world that we live in. For me to meet a fellow student from Sobou High…

Truly, fate weaves our lives in mysterious ways…

"So? You already know that I will get the highe-" Before she can finish her sentence, she was interrupted my Onee-sama.

"Nope."

A silence incurred.

But it was quickly broken by the one who initiated it.

"You see, Yukino-chaaann, I got hold of the rankings, and someone actually got everything perfect! For the first time in your life, someone actually beat you! Don't be sad, you are at 2nd place at least!" Her cheerful way of saying it wasn't affecting the one she's talking too at all. It's almost like she's pouring salt into Sigh-chan's wounds.

But wait, they are low-key talking about me…

"Ah! That's ridiculous, right? He has perfect scores all across the board! Just like me when I took the entrance exam!" She exclaimed.

Ok, now they are talking about me and I am seriously getting creeped out…

"Unfortunately, I was unable to find out what he looks like, or his name. Even the teachers and the principal were reluctant to show me too much personal information." She added.

I decided to listen further.

For the first time, Sigh-san finally spoke, and her tone was not kind.

"And?" she asked coldly.

The older of the duo laughed, her earlier cheeriness and mirth returned.

"Oh nothing! I just wanted to let you know that Mother might not be pleased with this new information!"

Silence…

Deafening silence…

Once again, it was Onee-sama who broke the silence

"Ah, but who knows? She might even ignore the matter completely. The gap between your scores aren't that big anyway." She said.

"I-I see…" Sigh-san said in a small voice, I can almost see her looking at down with a hard expression.

Looking at my watch, which looked impressive by the way, I decided that I spent too much time here, and it was time for me to depart.

"Ah, would you look at the time! Mother would call for me soon, and she would be sour if I was late! Bye bye Yukino-chan! See you later at the party!" With that farewell, Onee-sama took her leave and quickly left the café.

 _Party_? Did she say _party_?

For the next several minutes, I was trying to make sense on the conversation that I just listened into, but I decided that I shouldn't think too much about it.

Wracking my brain for answers on unknown questions would give me more questions to think on, thus giving me more headaches to bear with.

They are total strangers to me anyway, and it's not like I have any interest in interacting with them later in the party.

Assuming we are going to attend the same party anyway.

With that in mind, I forcefully cleared my mind and I finished the tea and made my way to the counter.

"Please put it on my Father's tab." I said to the bartender.

"Family name please sir?" he asked as he fished out a small piece of paper.

"Hikigaya."

With my purchase verified and noted, I left the café, but not before I took a look at Sigh-san.

She was looking outside the window, her tea, untouched. Her figure unmoving, like a beautiful statue trapped in time.

But even though I can't see her face, I can tell that she was quite upset, judging from how she clenched her right fist and how it shook.

 _Yukino_ huh…

 _Ice Woman…_

I turn my back and exit the café.

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
_  
I groggily entered our room and placed the bag full of souvenirs on the table.

Then I collapsed into my bed.

Ugh, I'm so tired…

After I departed from the café, I decided to go outside to purchase my Mother's request. I did it now so I can have more time to laze around later.

The souvenir shop that I bought these from was small, but was crowded due to so many tourists in the area.

I think I was cheated on, because the price that I paid for everything was higher than I initially conceived it to be.

Or maybe he made my purchases higher just because he saw me go out of an expensive and prestigious hotel!

Damn crook, I'm never going back to your shop again old man!

I looked at the time, and it was still 2:00 in the afternoon.

Ugh, I'm so bored…

It's still a few hours before the start of the party because I already read the sequence of events for this evening…

7:00 – The party starts receiving guests

8:00 – Introductions

9:30 – VIP speeches

10:00 – Formal Dinner

11:00 – Ball

11:40 – Closing Remarks

Ugh…

I tossed and turn in my bed, but I can't sleep.

Damn, what should I do…

I don't want to go outside…

But there's nothing to do here…

UGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

In the end, I decided to just read on the internet on what I should expect this evening on fine dining and formal parties.

Table Manners…

Introducing one's self…

How to politely excuse yourself…

Posture and walking…

How to keep a conversation going…

How to talk without sounding like an arrogant aristocratic twat…

How to score a night with a hot mature lady…

Wait, I _definitely_ didn't read that one because it was an obvious clickbait article.

And last, but not the least…

How to properly dance in the Ball and not make a fool out yourself.

Ah damn, I still cringe at myself when I hear the word _dance_ …

It reminded me of my middle-school days when no girl wanted to be my partner so I danced with the air instead…

Truthfully, I was shedding tears at that time…but no one can tell the difference because there was a bonfire…

Tonight, I will avoid the dancefloor at all costs!

But wait…

You don't have to worry about dancing at a ball when no girl wants to dance with you!

 _*Oi Hikigaya, that was pretty logical if you think about it, but the way you said it made it sad and depressing…*_

Ah, who cares about that!

With that in mind, I reached inside the refrigerator to get the chocolate cake that I saved during lunch. I picked it up and went back to the leather single-sofa that was positioned in front of our large window.

It was still 3:00, and the sky of Tokyo was still rather cloudy.

I took a bite from the cake, it was good, but not really something amazing, but I enjoyed it regardless.

My thoughts went back to what happened at the café…

Those two girls definitely weren't on the friendliest of terms, and I can _definitely_ feel bad vibes from the older one…

 _*Hikigaya, you should stop giving people weird nicknames, especially "Onee-sama"*_

Come on, that was a harmless joke on my part.

I can't help but think about those two girls, a voice in the back of my head keeps telling me to be wary of people like them.

Why am I even worrying myself with these thoughts? They are complete strangers to me and their business is not mine to bother.

I can feel the slightest hint of drowsiness somewhere inside me.

With that in mind, I reclined the sofa so I can have a better sleeping position.

It's still hours before the party, might as well sleep and conserve my energy…

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

 _Happy New Year Everyone!_

 _Finally! The Yukinoshita sisters have been seen!_

 _You might have noticed that this chapter was shorter than the usual amount. I decided to stop here because, next chapter is going to be on Komachi's POV._

 _I'm really excited to write Kawasaki-san and Kei-chan's part in the next chapter._

 _Well, that's all I want to say for now._

 _Expect the next chapter to be released around next week!_


	6. Social Gatherings are not his Forté

I look around the table that was reserved for our family.

My Father is helping administer the event.

My Mother chatting with her female friends.

Nee-san welcoming the guests that have just arrived.

I have never felt lonely in school, even though I have no friends.

They feel inferior to me, and thus, they feel insecure.

That is why they hate me.

Not once have I ever felt lonely, because I immersed myself with my thoughts and my studies.

But…

It's times like these that make me lonesome…

Parties arranged by my parents are a norm. But my role is non-existent.

While they go do their individual unspoken duties, I am by myself in our table. Waiting for them to come back and give me company.

One might suggest that I mingle with the crowd and socialize.

But I was never the most sociable person.

I look to my watch, and see that it's thirty minutes left until the start of the program.

Honestly, I had no desire to attend this social gathering.

But I lack the courage to defy my parents, especially my Mother…

With a sigh, I get up from my seat and make my way to the ladies' room to wash myself.

I notice that the number of people was increasing as the minutes pass by. I recognize some of them as either my Father's or Mother's acquaintances.

There were only a few people around my age attending, many of them the heirs of large companies and conglomerates. Of course, I see Nee-san entertaining the guests with her quirky jokes and friendly demeanor.

I take a look at the person that she is speaking to.

I do not recognize him.

It was a male, around my age. Nee-san was several inches taller than him, but that's because of the fact that she was wearing high heels.

He wore an impressive tuxedo, even from this distance, I can tell that what he wore was of very high quality and cost. He had a glass of juice in his hand, and would sometimes sip into it. He was quite lean, from my point of view. His hair was slicked back, and was shiny due to the wax applied into it. His physical features were nothing worth noting, nothing good, nothing bad.

Just…

Average…

I continued my observation, and I see Nee-san was the only one talking. The male would sometimes nod at her reply, never opening his mouth. To my surprise, she even playfully hit his shoulder as their one-sided conversation went on. He gave no external reaction to her act.

But that wasn't what surprised me.

What surprised me was that he was completely unaffected by Nee-san's charms. I can even say that he looked defensive while talking to her.

Most men I've seen talking with Nee-san would get all flustered and become a stuttering mess.

But him…

I was jolted out of my thoughts when the young man locked eyes with me.

I was frozen in place and couldn't move.

His eyes…

His eyes were empty and hollow…

Two dark pits of the void that attached itself into his skull…

I steeled myself, and returned his gaze.

For several seconds, none of us made a move.

Nee-san noticed that her companion was acting strange, and turned her head to the direction that he was looking at.

I was the first one to break eye contact because I caught Nee-san's eye.

She gave me a wave and I nodded back.

His eyes lingered on me for a moment, then utterly ignored me and returned to listening to what Nee-san was talking about.

I am aware that I am beautiful, and I would always get the attention of people around me, be they male or female.

The stares full of awe, amazement, envy and jealousy.

This time, I garnered the attention of this young man, and his eyes fell to me.

But his eyes carried nothing of what I just said.

Only a look of indifference.

I shook my head and went to the lady's room.

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

The program finally, started, and everything was going according to schedule. The waiters were going around with the snacks prepared before the main course.

On our table, only Nee-san was absent. It seems that the young man from earlier had caught her interest, and she seems intent on sticking with him.

Usually during events such as these, Nee-san would go entertain a wide variety of people. But tonight, her attention was captured by the young man.

Saying "young man", is becoming quite a hassle. I will give him a proper nickname based on his appearance until I know his true name.

Hmm…

Dead-eyes-kun sounds right…

My parents, along with most of the guests, clapped their hands at the current speaker. I followed their example and did the same.

My Father, suddenly realizing Nee-san's absence, turned to me with furrowed brows and asked,

"Yukino, where is your sister?"

"I do not know." I replied.

"Ah, Haruno is sitting with a young man she met earlier, their table is over there." My Mother answered and pointed behind us.

After scanning with my eyes, I found her sitting with dead-eyes-kun. There were only two of them in the table.

As usual, she was the only one talking, dead-eyes-kun would occasionally nod at her and give a short reply.

They looked like a couple, the girlfriend being all cheery, loud and extroverted, while the boyfriend was calm, composed and quiet.

Father seemed to accept this and turned his attention back to the stage.

Tonight, some of the guests were chosen to speak in front, and talk about any topic.

Some talked about business strategies, while others philosophy and financial management.

The last speaker for the night, walked to the stage. His tuxedo revealed itself when the lights focused on him.

He looked at around Father's age, and was taller than him by an inch or two.

Shortly after, the speaker began to introduce himself.

 _Hikigaya Joushirou_

Apparently, Mr. Hikigaya was the owner of a large accounting and logistics firm centered in Tokyo. His topic for tonight was how he currently came to be.

Unlike some speakers who were full of themselves and rather quite boisterous, Mr. Hikigaya looked like a rather humble and trustworthy man.

"Sixteen years ago, I acquired a rather large sum of money. Through the advice of many friends and associates, I decided invest in numerous corporations, banks, insurance companies, you name it. From the international stock market, to the shares of private corporations in Japan, my assets grew in quantity. Last year, for the first time in sixteen years, I decided to withdraw all of the funds that I needed to start my own company and business. So far, it's been going well!" he exclaimed.

"Thank God it worked out in the end, if it didn't I would be neck-deep in debts right now!" he added and laughed at his joke. Many guests, including my parents, joined the laughter.

He continued with his talk, and I decided to listen closely.

"As some of you may know, our Head Office is in Tokyo, but we are already making plans to expand further." He looked behind him and then signaled someone from behind the stage.

He moved a bit to the side, and then projector screens came to life.

On the large white wall, where a projector could be placed, a massive cargo ship came to view.

Some of the made sounds of awe and amazement.

Typically, the _oooo's_ and _aaaaaahhhh's._

"With the help of my friends here in Tokyo, we were able to purchase this beauty from a Dutch shipbuilding company. The ship will arrive at around October this year. This ship will be the flagship of our trading fleet!"

"And," he shortly added, "I name this ship after my very own firstborn son, Hachiman!"

The lights left his figure and traveled to several tables behind us.

It stopped on Nee-san's table, and I could see her eyes show surprise.

Dead-eyes-kun had a momentary look of surprise on his face, but then masked it well with a calm expression and a rather small smile. He stood up and bowed to his father and to the guests who clapped to him.

After that, he sat down and his composure broke a little, his hands started to shake, presumably out of nervousness. Nee-san, holding back tears of laughter, began to tease him, and a faint red tinge began to form on his cheeks.

For some reason, I felt envy, but I dismissed those thoughts immediately.

After that debacle, Mr. Hikigaya began to talk about his plans for the future and began receiving questions from some of the guests.

One of the administrator's assistants, went up to Mr. Hikigaya and whispered something in his ear. I think he was informing him that his time was already up.

He finished his speech on a good note, and left a good impression on many of the guests.

My Father asked for a microphone, and he received one shorty after.

He stood up and announced that the main course for tonight's dinner is on its way.

I looked back to Nee-san's table.

She got up and did a small stretch before suddenly grabbing Dead-eyes-kun's shoulders and leaning down to his ear. She whispered something into dead-eyes-kun's ear and he blushed. She got up and lightly waved her hand at him, before turning around to make her way to our table.

His face was still a red mess.

It looks like Dead-eyes-kun is not invulnerable to Nee-san's charms after all.

His shield is strong, but not strong enough.

"Haruno dear, I see you've already made yourself acquainted with Mr. Hikigaya's son." Mother said when Nee-san took her seat beside me.

"Ah, yes. He caught my eye, so went to him and I introduced myself. He's quite interesting, if I say so myself." Nee-san's eyes lit up, as if remembering something, and turned to me.

"Yukino-chan, I found out that he's going to Sobou High when school starts. It turns out, he's a freshman, just like you."

Oh?

"I see."

She had a disappointed expression from my reply.

"Haaa? What's with that reply? Not even interested one bit?" She pouted.

"No."

She sighed, and turned away from me, presumably to speak with Mother.

My shoulders relaxed a little, I always get tense when she speaks to me.

I caught sight of Mr. Hikigaya, heading to his table with his son, but on the way, some people would get his attention to speak to him.

Discreetly, I peeked back to take a look at what Dead-eyes-kun was doing.

And I saw the he was looking straight at me, with almost a questioning face.

I quickly turned away, embarrassed that I was caught in the act.

 _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Sigh-san has been looking at me for a while.

Is there something on my face?

I got up and went to the men's restroom, intent on seeing if there is in fact something on my face.

Along the way, some guests would look to me and give me a knowing nod, and I would respectfully give one back.

When I reached the restroom, I quickly took a look at myself in the mirror.

Hmm, there's nothing that would warrant any concern, my hair is fine and there aren't bits of food between my teeth.

Ah, she must be giving me glances because she was fearful for her life.

Haruno-san did say that she was in fact her little sister.

Damnit, I now I remember that I accidentally called her _Onee-sama_ a while ago!

 ** _Flashback to an hour ago_**

 _I held the glass of juice to my lips for me to drink._

 _Too sweet…_

 _I prefer MAXX COFFEE._

 _What do people do at events like these? Do they look for someone to talk to?_

 _My social skills are terrible, and standing around observing people would make me look more creepy than usual._

 _Guess I'll go find a vacant table._

 _I began my search, but a girl in front of me got my attention._

 _It was the older girl from the café earlier._

 _This time, she wore a beautiful black dress, her medium-length black hair was curled at the ends. There was a slip on her left leg that made it easier to walk. The neckline of her dress was only a small step away from being bold, but it was fine I guess. On the smooth skin of her neck, dangled a silver necklace in the shape of a rose._

 _She was a few inches taller than me and she wore one of those glove things that women wear and it ended at her elbow, I don't know what that's called though…_

 _Ah! In short, she's wearing an outfit just like LUST from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood!_

 _If her hair was a bit longer, her neckline a bit more bolder and a homunculus tattoo at the left side of her chest, then she would definitely be awarded with the best LUST cosplay!_

 _The female looked at me and gave me a smile._

 _I walked past her, she must be interested in someone behind me._

 _When I did, I heard a feminine voice from behind me._

 _"Hey!"_

 _I looked back and she was still looking at me, with an expression somewhere between mock-hurt and playful._

 _"A beautiful girl smiles at you and you ignore and walk past her?" She gave a cheeky grin._

 _"My apologies, I don't believe we've met." I gave her a slight bow._

 _She held out her hand for me to kiss._

 _"Yukinoshita Haruno, you can just call me Haruno-san."_

 _Hoo? A Yukinoshita? So Onee-sama is actually a Yukinoshita? And already on a first name basis?_

 _I have to keep my guard up!_

 _*Oi Hikigaya, stop calling people weird names. *_

 _Hai hai…_

 _I lightly took her hand, and gently kissed the top of it._

 _Ah! That was so cringe I want to kill myself! I hope I didn't mess it up._

 _"Hikigaya Hachiman."_

 _"Ah, so you're the son of Mr. Hikigaya?" she let go of my hand and cocked her head sideways in thought._

 _She must have recognized us because she was the one who welcomed us earlier when Dad and I arrived._

 _"Yes, Onee-sama."_

 _Oh my God, I can't believe that slipped out._

 _"I'M SORRY THAT SLIPPED OUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME!" I quickly explained myself in a rush of flying saliva and a very flustered face._

 _She held her hand to her mouth and started laughing, the sound very harmonious and almost practiced to perfection._

 _The people around started looking over to us, the guys giving me glares that could kill._

 _I returned a glare of my own and they immediately backed off when they saw how MENACING my eyes were._

 _"Hahaha. It's fine, no harm done." She said in-between giggles._

 _I cleared my throat to get a hold of myself._

 _What am I, a normie who succumbs to his teenage hormones when in contact with a beautiful girl?_

 _If that should happen, I will go to the shrine of the God Hachiman, my namesake, and kill myself there to cleanse my shame._

 _"I've never seen you here before, is it your first time?" She asked._

 _"It actually is."_

 _"Really? You don't look like you're new to this." She said._

 _That's because I've been reading on the do's and don't's so I won't embarrass myself and look like a fool._

 _Plus, I was practicing in front of the mirror to properly evaluate myself._

 _But I wasn't going to tell her that._

 _Especially the last part, it's too embarrassing._

 _I wasn't really sure on how to give a reply to her statement, so I just "Hmm'd" in response. Seeing that I was not talking any further, she decided to take the lead on our conversation._

 _"You look around my little sister's age, how old are you?" she asked_

 _"Fifteen years old."_

 _"What school are you enrolled in?"_

 _"I'll be on my first year in Sobou High at the end of the school break." When I said that, her eyes lit up with interest._

 _"Oh! I just graduated from that school! This year will be my first in attending college."_

 _"Ahh..." I slowly nodded at her, beckoning her to continue. Thankfully, she understood my unspoken message._

 _"You see Hikigaya-kun, Sobou is a very well-known and prestigious school, so you shouldn't slack off any time soon!" She said as she folded her arms in front of her chest and nodded to herself._

 _"Yeah…"_

 _"Did you know that Sobou holds a large school festival every year? Don't miss it because the events are really cool!" She continued._

 _"Uhuh…"_

 _"The disciplinary committee of the Student Council was really lax last year, so I don't know what advice I could tell you about that."_

 _"I see, then I should try and become the head of the disciplinary committee then." I said cooly._

 _Haruno-san began to lightly laugh and playfully hit my shoulder._

 _"Hikigaya-kun, you're so funny." She said._

 _I was perplexed by her actions, and I didn't know what to say or do._

 _Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up._

 _I felt someone was staring at me, so I immediately searched for the source._

 _When I found it, it belonged to Sigh-chan, Haruno-san's little sister._

 _When her eyes met mine, I could tell that she was a little startled from her reaction, but she held my gaze._

 _None of us made a move, our staring contest went on._

 _In the end, she was the one who broke contact first when she saw her older sister look at her._

 _The older of the two gave the younger one a wave, and the latter walked away._

 _"An acquaintance of yours?" I asked._

 _"That was Yukino, my little sister, she's going to be attending Sobou High too."_

 _Yes, I know that because I eavesdropped on your conversation earlier._

 _I looked back at the direction of Yukino-san, and I can see her glancing at me again._

 _After a quick look at her, I went back to listening to Haruno-san's voice._

 _Even after the program started, and the guests went to their seats, Haruno-san insisted on sitting with me._

 _We were the only ones at our table, Dad was at the backstage._

 _You might say that I might get awkward, but I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not your usual 15-year old boy._

 _Surprisingly, I wasn't bored of our one-sided conversation. She told me a lot of things about Sobou, from which teachers are the best, what kind of food the cafeteria offers, different clubs, to tips on time management and how to convince your teacher not to give you a late attendance._

 _But mostly she talked about herself, about her adventures in her Highschool life in Sobou. Of course, I couldn't find it in myself to ignore her, seeing that she went through the trouble of keeping me company in this lonely table of mine._

 _So, I just, listened. Sometimes I nodded or gave her a reply of my own, but mostly, I just listened._

 _It's really embarrassing to say this, but I feel like I was lost in her eyes as she spoke with enthusiasm and earnest interest._

 _I also had a feeling the she wasn't just talking to me for appearance's sake._

 _"Hikigaya-kun, look, your Dad is on the stage." She said as she raised and pointed her slender fingers at the stage._

 _I looked to the stage and true to her word, Dad was there. He began talking about stuff that I already heard about._

 _Strangely, Haruno-san was listening to the words of my Dad as well, and she stopped talking altogether._

 _A silence descended upon us as we lent our ears to my Dad, but the silence wasn't awkward at all._

 _When Dad cracked up his joke, a lot of the guests laughed, but I couldn't understand what was funny. But the female beside me began to lightly chuckle as well._

 _Suddenly, the lights that were focused on Dad, traveled quickly and landed at our table. I realized that I was mentioned, and I had to stand up. I could see Haruno-san's eyes widen is surprise._

 _Steeling my will, I stood up and gave a bow to my Dad and to the guests who turned to take a look at me, and I was rewarded with their claps of recognition._

 _When that ordeal was over, I let out a sigh and I could feel my hands and legs shake from nervousness._

 _Haruno-san began laughing and poking my cheek while saying that I looked so cute as I looked nervous and terrified._

 _Is she a sadist?!_

 _After I composed myself, she began to speak and, as usual, I would nod and listen quietly._

 _She told me that during events like these, it's her job to entertain guests and make them feel comfortable._

 _Given how close she moved her seat closer to mine just now, I would like to argue against that statement, but I decided against it._

 _"Oh? What does your little sister do then?" I asked._

 _"She makes herself look cute and keeps us company at the table!" she said rather cheerfully._

 _So, in other words, she doesn't do anything except wait at your table? That's a bit sad actually._

 _"Ah…"_

 _"But you know, I find it really cute how she's always trying to catch up to me. Imitating me and all, but she just fails at the end. It's so cute watching her struggle and chase my shadow…" She said._

 _Wow, that sounded really sadistic._

 _"Are you a sadist, Haruno-san?" I say in a lighthearted manner that was so out of character for me._

 _"Hmm, that depends on the situation, Hi-ki-ga-ya-kun." Suddenly, her voice became a lot sultrier and I unconsciously gulped._

 _"I do like watching people struggle, and the face they make when they see hopelessness and despair, it makes me feel so ALIVE. The face you made when you were nervous and shaking was what I had in my mind." she said, and I could momentarily see a predatory shine in her eyes._

 _"…" I had no words, my mouth was agape and my face probably white as snow._

 _"…Hikigaya-kun, that was a joke." She said before she burst into laughter._

 _I let out a sigh that I didn't know I was holding and clutched my heart. That actually scared me you know!_

 _She got up from her seat and started to stretch her arms a bit._

 _And from my angle, I could see a generous portion of her rather voluptuous body._

 _I turned away, being the gentleman that I am, before I could mentally defile her feminine figure. If I did that, I would have to force myself to marry her to take responsibility for my actions._

 _"Hikigaya-kun, I have to go now." She said as she looked down on me._

 _"I understand, see you around then."_

 _She suddenly grabbed my shoulder, leaned down and moved her lips to my ear._

 _"I'll introduce you to my cute imotou later, ok?" her breath was warm and wet, and I got goosebumps on my neck._

 _My face was probably red af too._

 _"O-Ok" I stuttered in reply._

 _She gave a light giggle and waved me goodbye. I returned her gesture._

 _Crap! I lost my cool in front of the sadistic Onee-san!_

 ** _Flashback End_**

I returned to my seat and my Father joined me shortly after I arrived.

When he sat down, I gave him a glare.

"What's wrong?" he asked dumbfounded.

"…Don't put me in an embarrassing situation like that again please…"

"Ah, it had to be done. Did you buy the souvenirs for your Mother and sister?"

"Yeah I already bought them a while ago."

Dad suddenly took out his phone and began swiping through the screen a bit, before finding what he was looking for and handing me his phone.

I raised an eyebrow at his act but he gave me a look that said "Just do it!".

When I received his phone, I saw a sight that brought warmth though my cold lifeless and cynical body.

The image showed a selfie of Komachi, Kei-chan and Kawasaki-san. I can see Komachi's bratty grin with her signature sharp tooth, as well as Kei-chan's wide smile while doing a peace sign. Kawasaki-san looked out of place as she didn't know what pose she would make, so she opted for an awkward smile.

I wish I was at home, in my room, alone, playing with my Vita-chan…

"Just bear with it longer, we'll be home tomorrow morning anyway." My Dad said as I returned his phone to him.

I sighed in defeat, whining like a little brat will get me nowhere, it will just piss me off more.

Finally, the main course for this evening arrived, the waiters expertly handling the trays of food. The anticipation was swelling in me, and while I wasn't really that hungry, I was excited what food they were going to serve.

When the food was presented to our table, it was the same food that I had for lunch hours ago.

Ugh, this is too much, who is the barbarian who chose this meal set? So much meat and fat, I'll get a heart attack sooner or later. And it's so greasy too what the heck.

I would like to say that this is a very _American_ dish.

Well, at least there's grilled beef and mashed potato, so I'll go with that then.

The music playing in the background was pleasant, and there was light chatter in the hall. I took a look at Haruno-san's table and I could see her talking with what appears to her mother. Her father was eating quietly and would occasionally nod at them.

The only black sheep in the flock was Haruno-san's little sister, Sigh-chan. She ate quietly and did not join in on their conversation, nor did her body language give off wanting to join in the first place.

My Dad and I ate our food quietly. When having dinner at home, Mom and Komachi would talk about trivial things, while Dad and I just listened.

Several minutes later, my plate was empty, and Dad excused himself to speak to someone.

Once again, I found myself alone at our table.

Seeing my chance, I was about to make a run back to our hotel room, but I ultimately decided against it because I'm too lazy to get up.

Plus, my stomach feels like it's gonna burst.

I could go for a cup of tea, or even better, MAXX COFFEE…

Looking around, I could see some people around my age group together and start talking loudly. Their boisterous laughter earning the looks of irritation from some of the more mature guests. I observed them for a while and they began to walk towards the exit.

My eyes fell on a set of stairs when they passed by it, and I looked up to see that it connected with a second floor above.

If one were to go up, he could see the entire venue from above.

Out of curiosity, I got up and began to walk up the said stairs. There's no sign that said that it's not allowed, so it must be ok for me to go up, right?

When I reached the second floor, it had a similar layout to the ground floor, tables and chairs here and there, and in the middle of it, surrounded by railings, was a view of the floor below.

The lights above illuminated the place, giving it a more grander appearance.

But a figure caught my eye.

She was by herself, lost in thought while looking at the lumps of people below.

Upon taking a closer look, it was actually Haruno-san's little sister, Yukinoshita Yukino.

Leaning against the pillar with her right shoulder, the image would be imprinted in my mind for a while.

Taking a quick look, there were pillars connecting the railings, around 4 meters in between them.

I went to the opposite side of Sigh-san, or her real name, Yukinoshita-san.

Taking a similar posture, I leaned on the pillar to my left and stared at the people below. I heard a yelp of surprise, and I turned to the source to see Yukinoshita-san having a surprised look.

"…" I said nothing and continued to look at her with a poker face.

"…" She too said nothing, but her brows furrowed a bit and continued to look at me.

Well, a staring contest will get embarrassing sooner or later, might as well be the one to speak first.

"Good Evening."

"G-Good Evening to you as well." She stuttered with a small blush on her face.

Don't blush damnit! You're gonna make me self-conscious!

With that said, I returned my gaze to the people below, but I can feel her eyes on me from time to time.

I don't know how much time passed by, but the administrators eventually announced that the ball will begin and the tables and chairs were eventually moved to the side to make room.

Several minutes later, the sound of music flowed in the air, and with it, the men and women below started to form into pairs.

I caught a glimpse of Dad sitting on the table with his colleagues, looks like they were content to just watching.

Amidst the small see of people below, I saw Haruno-san looking for someone, her eyes darting back and forth. Eventually, she was approached by numerous men who wanted to be paired with her.

She gave them a smile, but even from this distance, I can see that that smile was fake.

Soon the ball started, women dancing gracefully with poise and elegance. And by women, I mean Haruno-san.

Everything she did was coordinated and well-practiced, from the movement of her legs to how her hands held her dancing partner.

The couples began to exchange partners with each other, and I lost sight of Haruno-san.

I saw a guy around my age nearly trip over his partner's dress, after he composed himself, he just laughed awkwardly while his partner was fuming.

I forced my eyes away from the sight.

Poor sod, he's in for a lot of trouble later.

For the next several minutes, nothing really notable happened, and I was probably just spacing out while staring at the scene below.

I was jolted back to reality when I heard something behind me.

When I turned around, I saw Yukinoshita-san sitting on the floor. She must have tripped and managed to stop herself with her hands. My legs moved on their own, and I immediately went to her to see if she's alright.

"Excuse me, are you ok?" I kneeled with one leg in front of her.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said while looking down while her hair covered her eyes a bit.

"Well, you don't look fine, seeing that you are sprawled all over the floor." When those words left my mouth, I can feel the air around me freeze.

The glare she gave me was quite scary, to say the least.

I offered my hand to help her up, but she frowned and gently pushed my hand away.

She tried to get up, but for some reason, the laws of physics were against her, and she nearly tripped and fell over.

Fortunately, thanks to my quick reflexes, I managed to put my left arm around her waist before she can ungracefully fall to the floor a second time.

Instinctively, her arms reached out to something that can stop her from falling.

I felt her slender arms wrap around my neck.

Damn, that was close.

I looked down, and I saw wide her eyes stare back at me. Her cheeks were a bright shade of red and her lips slightly parted. Our faces were only a few inches away.

Suddenly realizing the situation that I was in, I was about to let go of the female beside me but a voice from near the staircase made me stop in my tracts.

"Ara, Hikigaya-kun, I see that you already acquainted yourself with my little sister…" Turning my head, I saw Haruno-san with a hand over her mouth in mock-surprise.

I tried to quickly help Yukinoshita-san stand on her own, because the prolonged intimate physical contact was making me uncomfortable. But her body refused to cooperate and still remained limp.

"What's this, Yukino-chan? Were you really charmed by Hikigaya-kun that much that you want to stay in his arms forever? Get a room you two!" Haruno-san exclaimed in a teasing manner.

I can almost imagine steam go out of Yukinoshita-san's ears when she heard Haruno-san's words.

Quickly, but gently, she removed my hold on her and went a step away from me. With a forced cough, she turned to me, her face stoic but still sporting a large blush.

The scene was quite comical, to say the least.

"I don't believe we have properly introduced ourselves. My name is Hikigaya Hachiman." I said.

"P-Pleased to meet you, m-my name is Yukinoshita Yukino." She said in a small voice.

From the corner of my eye, I see Haruno-san smirking.

"T-Thank you for helping me up Hikigaya-kun. Had you not come to my aid, I would have surely fallen in a very ungraceful manner."

Stop stuttering with a blush damnit! You're going to make me blush too!

"Hmmm."

"Sooooooooooooooo…..," I looked to see Haruno-san walking towards me.

"What were the two of you doing up here, away from the prying eyes of everyone else?" she innocently asked, though the meaning behind it was quite the opposite.

"I was bored of the ball downstairs, so I came up here to watch from above." I said in all honesty.

"And you, Yukino-chan?" With her body still facing me, Haruno-san turned her head to the female in question.

With a small blush from the sudden attention, Yukinoshita-san looked to down to the side.

"There were too many people. I wanted some time by myself." She said as she rubbed her left arm.

"Ah, and here I was thinking I accidentally disturbed your tryst…" she said in a disappointed tone.

I scoffed at her assumption.

Ridiculous!

Absolutely ridiculous!

"N-Nothing happened between the two of us!" Yukinoshita-san exclaimed with a bright red face suddenly.

Stop stuttering and blushing woman! You're making this situation much more difficult to handle!

"It's as Yukinoshita-san says." Hopefully, my statement will convince her.

She looked at us for a second and gave up with a sigh.

"Stop taking the fun away..." With that, she went to me and grabbed my arm, pulling it closely to her body, and I could feel her, um…, you know…

With me stuck to her, she began slowly walking back to the staircase leading below.

Of course, I had no choice but to follow her.

"Haruno-san, your arm is a bit too close." I said in an uncomfortable tone, and I turned to Yukinoshita-san for help.

"Nee-san, you are being rude. Dead-eyes-kun is clearly feeling uncomfortable, given your proximity to him." She said and started following us from behind.

Wait…

What did she call me?

"Nonsense! Hikigaya-kun is quite enjoying my presence!" she exclaimed while giving me a wink.

Good grief, what have I gotten myself into…?

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I follow Nee-san and Dead-eyes-kun from behind.

The unfortunate events that transpired earlier, mainly between me and Dead-eyes-kun, is embarrassing to even think back on.

Not to mention Nee-san caught sight of us in an…unsightly state.

Dead-eyes-kun looks to me and gives me one last pleading look, and I ignore his unspoken plea for help. He sighed in defeat and turned his head away from me.

Suddenly, Nee-san turns to me, with her phone at her left hand, she angles the screen so I can see what she wanted to show me.

When my eyes finally registered what I saw, my heart stopped beating for three heartbeats.

…

…

…

On the screen, I see a photograph of myself and Dead-eyes-kun.

His arm around my waist while my arms were around his neck. With my back arched and my upper body saved from falling with the help of his arm.

Needless to say, we were in a very risqué and suggestive position.

I felt all the blood flow straight to my face, I tried to form words but no sound escaped from my mouth.

Seeing my reaction, Nee-san gave me a sly smile and giggled from the sight as she put away her phone. I saw Dead-eyes-kun give her a sidelong glance, but he did not say anything.

Truthfully, this evening is proving to be more trouble than it's worth…

[CHAPTER END]

 _Yosh! How's it going bois and grils!_

 _I'm back!_

 _Yeah, so back in chapter 4, I said that the next chapter is gonna be released at the following week..._

 _Aaaaannndddd, here I am uploading 3 weeks later..._

 _Hehe...Sorry about that._

 _I decided not to go with the Komachi POV, because I was having a difficult time trying to match my writing to the mindset of Komachi._

 _Soooo, I decided to head straight to Yukino's POV at the start of this chapter!_

 _I bet you didn't expect that!_

 _You were expecting a Komachi POV, but it was me, Yukino!_

 _So what do you think about this chapter? I deliberately made Haruno more like a sadistic Onee-sama here. (Blend S Reference, if you haven't watched it yet, give it a try! I certainly enjoyed the series and my sides were hurting at the end of each episode because it was hilarious show!) Also, don't forget to write a review if you want! I am always reading the reviews you know!_

 _You can always write down some suggestions and ideas for me to read!_

 _Don't forget to SMASH THAT like and subscribe button! (lol)_


	7. A Tiresome, but Enjoyable Day

(I accidentally posted my not-so-revised document, as you may have noticed. Yes I posted this using my phone, and now I realized that there's **ALOT** of errors, some punctuation/commas/periods/italicized words were missing. I've been trying to re-upload numerous times, but the chapter refuses to be updated.)

Sorry

Please forgive me for causing such a blunder on my part. I will prevent myself from making mistakes like these in the future.

Now let's continue the story!

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As usual, I couldn't take a nap properly on my train from Tokyo to Chiba, and I just sat there, mindlessly looking outside, observing the view of tall buildings and congested roads.

My Father wanted me to stay with him a while longer, but he relented and gave me leave to go home alone.

As if I would want to attend one of those annoying parties, but I had to admit that the beds in our room were great though.

Regardless, I wanted to go home as fast as possible, I still had work today too you know.

Plus, I wanted to stay away from Onee-sama, I'm getting bad vibes from her. Oops, I mean _Yukinoshita Haruno_. Her little sister was quite cold and rude, even labeling me as dead-eyes-kun. But I think its fair, I _did_ call her Sigh-chan.

I walked away from the train station; we arrived roughly around 30 minutes after our departure from Tokyo. I called a taxi as I was too tired to walk all the way home.

Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic, and we arrived home in no time. I paid for the taxu fare and stepped outside the vehicle.

Ah, how I've missed you, door-chan, and you too doormat-chan, sorry for stepping on you by the way. Finally, I am away from the horrors of the outside world!

I was broken from my inner monologues when heard quick footsteps from inside the house, it was probably Komachi.

"Onii-chan welcome back! I'm glad your'e here because I was so lonely this morning. Mom had to go out early." She opened the door and tackled me.

"Yes, yes, I am the best Onii-chan in the world..." I say as I walk inside, with her still clinging to my chest and her legs dragging on the floor.

She lets go of me and brings in my bag, which I left outside. With a sigh, I collapse on our carpeted floor.

Home sweet home...

I heard Kamakura meow from somewhere in the house. What a bad cat, not even welcoming me home. I would choose genetically engineered cat girls over Kamakura anytime!

"Wheres Dad?" Komachi asked, noticing the absence of our Father.

He has something important to attend to, so I just went on ahead. I wanted to come home as fast as possible to see my cute imotou." I said the last part in a sarcastic tone.

Your next line is, _"H-Haaah? W-What are you saying? Stupid Onii-chan!"_!

"H-Haaah? W-What are you saying? Stupid Onii-chan!" She stuttered and stumbled over her words.

I also felt her lightly kick me leg.

Kicking a man while hes on the floor? 100 years of dishonor! Also, what she said was a completely overused line by all little sister figures in nearly 99.9% of anime that I have watched.

"Your souvenirs are inside my bag." I mumble.

"Yay!" Her earlier demeanor of embarrassment was replaced to that of glee and excitement.

"So, Big Bro, how was your trip? Did you finally bring a girl home?" she asks as she begins to rummage through the stuff I brought with me.

My mind goes back to what happened last night on the Ball and my meeting with the Yukinoshita sisters.

And, umm...the _embarassing_ moment I had with Sigh-chan, which was unfortunately witnessed by her elder sister.

Come to think of it, when we were walking down the stairs after that little incident, Haruno-san suddenly giggled, and when I took a glance behind me, Sigh-chan looked like she had seen a ghost, with her already white complexion becoming all the more whiter.

I wonder what that _Snow Woman_ saw that made her pale?

"The only girl that I need in my home is you and Mom. I bet that scored a lot of Komachi points!"

She lightly giggled at my reply.

"Ok, anything new you wanna tell me?" she inquired.

"Well, I learned that I got the highest entrance exam scores in Sobou." I say hoping that she would praise me for my efforts. Ha!

"That's to be expected. Anything else?" she said in a bored tone.

Oi, I appreciate that she thinks that highly of me, but the way she said it made it sound like it wasn't a big deal!

I sacrificed my blood, sweat and tears you know! Figuratively speaking of course...

"Hmm, there's this store in front of our hotel that sells souvenirs. I got ripped off there." Tch, I'm never going back to your store, old man!

With a stretch, I felt some of my joints pop, and I got up to get some breakfast.

"There's some eggs and miso soup in the refrigerator." Komachi said as she tore open the bag of souvenirs and began to inspect them.

I was too lazy to heat the food, so I just ate them as it is.

"These are pretty nice!" Komachi exclaimed as she dangled a shiny keychain of Tokyo Tower in front of her.

"Tell Kawasaki-san to come over, I bought stuff for her and Kei-chan too." Hmm, now that I think about it, how many times have the two of them visited our house?

"Hoohh, whats this? Are you making a move on Kawasaki-nee, Onii-chan?" She said with a trashy teasing smile.

Its good to see that she got that trashy smile from Dad.

"Umm...I guess I bought them as a sign of thanks for hanging out with you...?" I say as I cocked my head at my own words. I don't even know why I bought them in the first place.

At my reply, she sighs and continues rummaging through the bag like a raccoon. If she continues to sigh like that, I will be forced to call her Sigh-chan 2.0

With that said, I continue my breakfast, but my eyes fall on our wall clock.

8:20

I'M ALMOST LATE FOR WORK!

With a rush, I stuff all the food in my mouth and quickly drank some water.

"Onii-chan, I'm happy that you love my food very much but slow down! You might choke!" My cute imotou exclaimed in an exaggerated manner.

"Yes, I'm in a hurry you see." I zoom towards the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Ten minutes later, I quickly rush upstairs to get a change of clothing.

I grab whatever I think was decent and went downstairs.

"Oi Oniichan, I know that you got a job so you can stop trying to hide it." Komachi coolly said.

What? How did they know?

I gave her a questioning look.

"Mom saw you the other day at that bookstore; her place is not far away from where you work y'know..."

Hmm...I forgot to take that into consideration...

Maybe Ill drop by later...

"Ah, I see. Then see you later." I put on my shoes and went to the door. I was about to decide to ride my bike, but I ultimately decided against it My intuition tells me that I'm going to go somewhere after work tonight

"Ok, stay safe!" I heard her voice as I closed the door behind me.

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"Hikigaya-kun, what do you do on weekends?" Shiromeguri-senpai asked while chewing her food. I was going to reprimand her but my bubbly senpai was too cute.

"Well, I stay at home, read books, play video games and sometimes go cycling around the neighborhood." That's what every guy my age does these days, right?

Wait, I bet they hang out with their friends too...

We were currently having lunch in the staff room. I bought a Chinese take-out and decided to eat here with her. Shiromeguri-senpai had a homemade bento for lunch, along with some green tea. I can hear Tatsumi-san talking to someone on her phone in her room.

"What kind of games?" she asked as she picked up a slice of carrot with her chopsticks.

"Fighting games and RPG adventure. I prefer games that have a deep story line."

I remember a few years back when I was playing Pokemon on my Gameboy on the corner at school. Some kid accidentally bumped into me, which caused me to press a wrong button, leading to me being unable to catch Entei and the bastard ran away again.

Shiromeguri-senpai closed her eyes, while chewing her food with full cheeks.

Needless to say, it was so cute I wanted to hug and pat her head right there.

"Say Hikigaya-kun, I want to get a habit of reading a book, but I don't have any particular tastes yet. What do you recommend for a beginner like me?" She asked.

Hmm This was sudden...

I think for a bit while slowly chewing and swallowing my food, with Shiromeguri-senpai patiently waiting for my reply.

What to recommend, I wonder...?

"Ok, lets start with topics that you might get interested in. What do you know about Greek Mythology?" I slowly ask her.

"Greek? Umm...I think I know Plato, Aristotle and Karl Marx...?" She looked up in wonder, half-questioning herself in the process.

The first two were Greek Philosophers, but how did she associate _KARL MARX_ with _Greek Mythology_?!

Plus, the guy was a German!

"Ok, what about history?" I inquire again.

"I get easily get bored of history...hehehe..." Her laughter trails off, her eyes refusing to meet mine.

Hey! History can be fun to read too you know! Ill let this slide for now, but I will make an effort to make Shiromeguri-senpai see history in a new light.

My favorite topics in history were the unification of Japan and Rise and Fall of the Mesopotamian Civilizations.

"Literature, like poetry and epics?" I ask.

I always wanted to join a literature club back in middle-school, but they refused me because they said that I look too creepy to be able to appreciate literature.

How does ones look even connect to how he can appreciate and write literature?

"Too many deep words..." She replied.

"What about Egyptian Mythology?"

"I'm not fond of any kind of mythologies..." she says with a worried smile while scratching her cheek with her finger.

By Ra, this is going to be difficult...

"Hmm, Ok. Lets go to novels. What do you think about Horror Novels?"

"Your'e asking me that right off that bat?! I'm scared of stuff like that!" she exclaimed while forming a cross with both of her index fingers in front of me.

Oi, I'm not a ghost, nor a demon...

But if I had a choice, I'd rather become a vampire.

Wait, with my eyes, I'll probably be mistaken for a zombie...

"Mystery and Psychological?" I say with a tired voice, this is surprisingly mentally draining me...

"Hmm, I'm indifferent, I guess?"

"Science Fiction?"

"Too complicated, some explanations are too complicated to understand." she says.

Hmm, I can relate. I barely understood what just happened after I finished Neon Genesis Evangelion, even though its an anime and not a Novel.

"What about romance? Surely a girl like you would like to read them, no?" I say hopefully. I always avoid this genre, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth and most the story is just plain bland.

She lightly blushed, but managed to hide it quickly.

"I used to read them before, but I stopped because I think it was becoming unhealthy..."

Oh?

"How so?" I was genuinely curious.

"Well, reading stuff like that, especially if your'e a girl, gets to your head you know? It also gives you unrealistic expectations to guys around you. You expect them to reach the image that you created from them in your head. In the end, your'e the one being unfair to them and everything you did was useless..."

I was taken aback by her reply, and I didn't really know how to answer. After a bit of thinking I managed to form a vague, yet comprehensible reply.

"Ah...that makes sense when you put it that way." I say quietly.

I have recently learned to never have expectations, or at least lower them to that point that when things don't turn your way, you wont be too hurt because you already had low expectations in the first place.

Just like every group activity in my middle school. I always knew that no one would want to group up with me, so I made it a point to never expect too much, that way, the pain was bearable, at least...

I guess that's how I started to become the pessimistic, realistic and nihilistic person that I am today...

"So yeah, since then, I avoided romance novels." She said with a troubled smile and twirling a strand of hair.

"I see, well, I can't think of any other things that you might get interested in reading..." Well, I still had manga and Light Novels up my sleeve...

Ah, to heck with it, it's not like I have anything to lose anyway.

"Shiromeguri-san-"

" _Senpai_ "

"Shiromeguri- _senpai_ , what about manga?"

Her eyes lit up for a moment.

"Oh, so you read manga Hikigaya-kun?" She says with a hint of interest in her voice.

"From time to time, yeah." I reply.

Manga is the type of thing that you cant say that you like a lot at the start of the conversation. You have to know where the person you are talking to stands on the subject.

"A lot of the guys and some girls in my class read that stuff...maybe Ill give it a try." She replied with her mouthful. Ah, I can see a piece of lettuce stuck between her teeth...

I grunted in reply as I finished my food.

"Shiromeguri-senpai, our lunch break is almost over, around ten minutes at least." I say with a glance at the clock.

Her eyes widened in surprise, then glanced at the clock behind her.

"Ah! Silly me!" With that she began to hastily shove her food in her mouth.

"Please don't rush eating. You might choke, and I would have to carry your workload this afternoon." I say as I neatly wiped my mouth with a tissue, then disposing it in the nearby garbage bin.

"That's what you're worried about?!" she exclaimed. A bit or rice went flying to my face, but I quickly managed to avoid it.

"Ill be going ahead to check our inventory." I say as I head towards the door.

"W-Wait for me!" She called out.

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The clock struck 6:00 pm.

Finally, my work today is over, my back hurts from all the lifting I had to do. Some new shipments arrived and the wheel on our cart broke.

So, I had to do everything using physical labor.

Of course, I couldn't let this slide, I refuse to work while there's a faster and more efficient alternative at my disposal! So I told Tatsumi-san of my predicament, and she said that she'll get the cart repaired as soon as possible.

Needless to say, I hope she keeps her word...

"Thanks for the hard work, Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai calls me from the other side of the room with a comfy smile.

"You too." I remove the employee vest from my chest and cleanly fold it and place it on my locker.

With that done, I sit on the chair in the middle of the room and wait for Shiromeguri-senpai to finish so we can go home together.

 _*Whats this, Hikigaya? Your'e already going home with Shiromeguri-senpai?*_

Oh please, if my Mom found out that I didn't accompany my female co-worker to the train station, she would disown me and kick me out of the house.

Plus, we have been doing this procedure for a week already and I don't really have a reason to deny her request, nor do I feel uncomfortable in her company.

"Hikigaya-kun, do you mind joining me for a while longer? I have a few things to buy." She looked at me with wide and expectant eyes.

Damn, how can I say no when shes looking at me like that?! This is so unfair! Is this Shirmomeguri-senpai's new passive skill?!

I made mental calculations on the possible amount of time that this...request, might take to finish.

Hmm...

"Well, I don't have anything to do this evening, so I don't mind, I guess." I say in a bored tone after glancing at my watch.

She sighed with a hint of disappointment.

Oi, what did I say wrong?

"You sound like you're just coming with me to kill time..." she said in a dejected tone as she put her purse over her shoulder and began to walk towards me.

W-Well, I cant deny that there's a bit of truth in what she said just now...

Before I can reply, I hear Tatsumi-sans voice.

"Hikigaya-kun, Meguri-chan."

I turn around and see Tatsumi-san just exiting the restroom.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Hmm?" Shiromeguri-senpai follows after me.

"Follow me; I have something to give you." She says as she turns her back on us and heads to her office. Her hair swirling in the process, while my eyes lingered a bit on her long and slender legs.

Wow she looked pretty cool.

I looked to Shiromeguri-senpai with an eyebrow raised, and she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

Hmm...

I got up and went to the office, Shiromeguri-senpai following close behind. Of course, I open the door for her.

She mumbled thanks as she walked past me and I followed her inside.

When we entered Tatsumi-sans office, she was already sitting down on the chair behind her desk waiting for us to take a seat.

"Well then, I have something important to tell you and you may not like it."

I hummed in response and Shiromeguri-senpai nodded her head.

"There was a certain miscalculation this month. We had small misunderstanding with the mall authorities regarding the rent payment. Unfortunately, I had paid them too much and they agreed to allocate the extra portion to next months payment. We're a bit thin on cash lately..." she said with a troubled tone.

"So, I decided to cut your salaries a bit. Its only for this month though."

Hmm, that's understandable, guess.

"Ah, I see..." Shiromeguri-senpai says in a far-off voice.

"But don't worry! I still plan to compensate you one way or another!" Tatsumi-san exclaimed loudly and startling me in the process.

Don't do that please, I might get a heart attack.

She opened one of her drawers and fished out two pieces of papers and gave them both to us.

My eyes slightly widened in surprise, when I received mine.

"This is...!" I hear Shiromeguri-senpai's voice from the side.

"That's right! Its a free three-month membership to a taekwondo studio that my cousin owns!" Tatsumi-san explained.

Tatsumi-sans bookstore, Tatsumi-sans Taekwando Studio, whats next? Tatsumi-sans Ramenhouse?!

"Wow this is pretty neat, isn't it Hikigaya-kun!?" Shiromeguri-senpai cheerfully said and looked to me with expectant eyes.

Being weak to those kinds of looks, I looked to the side to prevent myself from feeling too self-conscious.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so..." I say as I try to avoid making eye-contact with her.

The wall over there was pretty interesting...

"Your salaries will be back to normal a month from now. I'll inform you the details of your Taekwondo membership on a later date." Tatsumi-san said as she took her ledger and began flipping through the pages.

"We're going to be Taekwondo masters, Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai said in a cheerful manner.

"I highly doubt we can become masters in three months, Shiromeguri-senpai." I give her a small strained smile.

Well, it might be possible. If we had a hyperbolic time chamber, a portal to another dimension where time passes 10X slower, or we had the power to stop and resume time infinitely…

"Thanks for informing us, Tatsumi-san. We will be going on ahead." Shiromeguri-senpai stood up and I followed suit.

"Ok, thank you for your hard work. See you tomorrow." She waved at us and I closed the door behind us.

Shiromeguri-senpai looked down on her clothes and began to straighten up herself.

She wore a sky blue long-sleeved blouse today, and wore a long flowing white skirt that ended a few inches above her feet. After checking herself one more time, she opened her small purse and began rummaging through it.

During that time, I was just patiently leaning on the wall near the door that led outside of the staff room.

My Mom always told me to never tell a girl to " _Hurry up!_ ", doing so will get them triggered and give you the silent treatment.

 _Hell hath no fury than a woman pissed off_. Did I say it right?

I heard an "Hmph!" from Shiromeguri-senpai, and she finally turned around and faced me.

"Well Hikigaya-kun, shall we get going?"

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Our first stop was the grocery.

We already bought a bunch of stuff, but not really a lot. Even so, I insisted to use the cart so I can lean and put my weight on it from time to time. I had to admit that it was a bit childish, but it was fun nonetheless!

We stopped at the fruits section, and Shiromeguri-senpai began examining the watermelons. All the while making a, "Hmmm~" sound. One caught her eye, and she grabbed it and put in near her ear then tapped it a bit.

She made a face that said that she was unsatisfied and turned to me.

"Hikigaya-kun, what do you think about this one?" She handed me the fruit.

I have no idea what I should do, so I just imitated her.

 _Pound! Pound!_

"I have no idea what I'm doing..." I confessed and put the fruit back on the fruit stand. She lightly giggled at my reply. Come to think of it, is there even a scientific basis on why we pat a watermelon? How does the resulting sound correlate to the fruits ripeness?

I will do further research on this, and write a thesis. When I present this to the scientific community, they will award me with a Nobel Prize and a small loan of a million dollars.

Of course, they would have to force me to stand on the stage, and when the lights fall on me, _"I'm going to say No, turn those lights off! OFF!"_

"Neither do I." She replied with a small smile, and went on ahead, with me following close behind her.

Her left hand gripped the front of our cart. Almost like she knows that I'm going to get lost.

Ah, this takes me back when I was at the grocery store with my Mom when I was a kid

I followed Shiromeguri-senpai to the coffee and milk isle. She quickly put her desired items in the cart and I told her that I would be going to the other side to pick a creamer.

Hmmm...There's too many to choose from, I cant pick

"Hikigaya-kun," I hear Shiromeguri-senpai's voice from my left side, "are you having trouble choosing?"

"Hmm." I nodded to the shelves.

"Ill help you pick one." From the corner of my eye, she stood next to me with our shoulders touching, and began to stare intently at the coffee creamers in front of us.

"Hmm~." She put a hand under her chin and furrowed her brows.

For the next few moments, we were boring holes at the coffee creamers, but my ears caught the conversation of some people within my vicinity.

"What are the two of them doing?" An elderly female voice asked.

"I don't know..." Came the reply of an elderly gentleman.

"They look pretty young, are they newlyweds, I wonder?" The female voiced asked herself, more than to her male partner.

"Cant be, they are probably girlfriend and boyfriend."

Good grief, what a cliché scenario.

Am I in a crappy light novel?

Or even worse, am I in a fanfiction?

While I was not really bothered by their comments, I took a glance at the female beside me, and she was the exact opposite.

Her cheeks were slightly pink, and when her eyes met mine, she yelped and quickly grabbed a random product in front of her.

Ah, I wanted the other one though...

"Hikigaya-kun, lets go." She says while leading me and holding my arm.

Oi, too close! _Too close!_

The elderly couple, who made the situation a bit awkward, caught our eye and smiled at us. Shiromeguri-senpai gave them a sheepish smile while I nodded at them.

"Shiromeguri-senpai, don't let their words bother you. We probably look like siblings from another perspective." I say, wanting to extinguish the awkward atmosphere.

While walking, Shiromeguri-senpai looks to me with questioning eyes and a tilted head.

"Huh? Really?" she asks.

"I dunno, if I had brown hair at least, maybe that can fool them." I broke eye contact with Shiromeguri-senpai because she was now giving me an intense analyzing look.

She looked like she reached a conclusion inside her head and returned her gaze to the front.

"Hehe, I just thought about you with brown hair and you looked weird." She says with a small giggle.

The thought went to my head, and I immediately cringed just imagining myself with brown hair.

As we were walking, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

That can only mean one thing...!

I slowly and discreetly looked behind.

Apart from a few random people, there were no suspicious individuals in sight.

Hmm...

"Is there something wrong, Hikigaya-kun?" Shiromeguri-senpai's voice broke through my thoughts.

"Ah, its nothing. If you don't have anything else to buy, lets to the cashier and go out of here." I say, eager to go home already.

She nodded her head and we made our way to the cashier.

I noticed that she was still holding my arm, I wanted to tell her to let go of me, but I couldn't think of the proper word choice to make it sound like she was bothering me or making me uncomfortable.

I sighed in defeat, in the end, I was the only one being overly self-conscious...

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We just got out the grocery store, my purchases at my right hand and Shiromeguri-senpai's at my left. She finally let go of me right arm, ah, I can feel my joint pop from its prolonged non-movement.

"So Hikigaya-kun, do you want to go somewhere?" She asked as we sat down on the nearby bench to rest our tired legs.

"I'm going to go to the sports store I saw earlier, a tennis racket that I had my eye on for a while finally went on sale." I nearly forgot about that racket from how busy I was on these past two weeks...

"Do you mind if I go with you?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Well, not really-"She cut me off before I could finish what I was saying.

"Great!" She said with a loud voice that earned the looks of a few passerby.

I gave a tired sigh. I'm too tired to deny her anyway...

After resting our legs for a bit on the nearby bench, I dragged my weary body, with Shiromeguri-senpai by my side, to the sports establishment.

We went straight inside, and I got the racket without any problems.

With curiosity shining on her eyes, Shiromeguri-senpai asked, "Hooh, is that the on you want, Hikigaya-kun? May I see it?"

I handed her the top quality racket that was a bit expensive, but now that I had saved a bit of money, this baby is now mine!

The racket was made from high-grade material and was very light too. Common rackets tend to get slippery on the grip as time passes by, but this was specifically made to prevent things like that from happening. Its always a long-term investment to buy something of high and superior quality, rather that something that's cheap and was standard-quality.

"Its pretty nice." She commented.

"That's all I needed, Shiromeguri-senpai, lets go to the cashier and go home." I say with a bit of more enthusiasm in my voice, especially the go home part.

I held the racket a little too close to my chest as we made our way to the cashier, but on the corner, I accidentally bumped into someone.

At that moment, I felt a cold and wet sensation on my t-shirt.

I look down on my t-shirt, now stained with and splattered with what appears to be orange juice.

Tch...

With furrowed brows, I look down on the perpetrator, and I see that it was actually a girl.

The girl in question had blond hair, whether it was natural or artificial, I do not know. She wore a pink frilly blouse and a pencil skirt that ended several inches above her knees; she also wore fashionable and carried with her a small purse.

My Riajuu alarms are going crazy!

"Hey! Watch where your'e going you idiot!" She said in a loud voice and an angry facial expression.

Goodness, how rude...I can see Shiromeguri-senpai frown at the girl from the corner of my eye.

I said nothing but offered her my hand to help her up, but that seemed to make her even angrier.

She swatted my hand away like an annoying fly.

That hurt my feelings more than it hurt physically…

Without my help, she briskly got up and held the remnants of her spilled juice. I see some of its contents of her purse.

Oh my, it looks like fuel to a flame...

She looked at me again, this time I had a clearer vision of her.

Objectively speaking, she had a body that would make most girls make a run for their money. Her clothes accentuated her pretty figure, which went well with her flowing blond locks of hair. What she was wearing was what I could call fashionable and trendy. Her legs also looked pretty toned and slender.

 _*Hikigaya, do you have a fetish for legs?*_

I'm not going to answer that.

Anyway, her green eyes full of fury met my dead and hollow ones.

"Now look at what you did! My purse is ruined, you creep!" She exclaimed.

I shook my head and gave a sigh, I have no time for this.

"Sorry, but you should also be aware that food and drinks are not allowed inside this store. If you hadn't brought that beverage inside, it would have saved us a lot of trouble." I say in a bored tone. Good grief, this is one of the many reasons why I avoid going to places where there's too many people. Things like these are bound to happen, one way or another.

It took a few seconds for her to fully absorb what I said, haha riajuus, always have slow cognitive processes.

When she finally did, she seemed even angrier than before.

I sensed that things would escalate even further, and I thought of the perfect plan to end things right here.

"I'm quite in a hurry and I have no time for this. So for conveniences sake, I'm just going to apologize to you." I say as I give her a slight and stiff bow.

You might say that that's pretty low, but I don't care about trivial things like that at the moment.

That seemed to please her a bit, and I could see her anger cede a bit. She still looked pissed off though...

Her gaze lingered on me, and I realized that she was taking a good look at Shiromeguri-senpai, almost like sizing her up.

Shiromeguri-senpai on the other hand, held her gaze and gave her a troubled smile, but her eyes were firm.

"Tch, well, I'm sorry too for being rude. Just be careful next time..." She said in an irritated and sarcastic tone, and went out of the store. Her blond hair swaying as she walked away from us.

"Creep..." she muttered when she thought she was out of earshot.

Pff, an insult that basic has no effect on me!

Well, at least she had the decency to apologize, but that might have been her sarcasm on her part though...

I turned to Shiromeguri-senpai, amazed at her calming and serene aura as usual. If I was in front of a million people, about to make a speech or something, my nervousness would go away once I was within Shiromeguri-senpai's passive aura skill Area of Effect range.

She began to rummage through her purse and took out a few tissues.

"Well, that was something..." She muttered as she closed the distance between us and began wiping away at my chest, eager to at least lessen the mess on me.

I should be embarrassed, flustered, or stuttering with a blushing face, but I felt like this was natural. Almost like how a Nee-san would take care of her younger siblings when they make a mess of themselves.

Huh, so this is what having a Nee-san is like...

I wish Shiromeguri-senpai was my Nee-san...

When she looked satisfied with her work, a member of the staff came by and we explained what happened.

Of course, I was the one who had to apologize in behalf of Blondie.

Good grief, I looked down on my shirt and remembered that I was stained, at least my racket was safe

"Hikigaya-kun, go buy a new shirt, you look icky!" Shiromeguri-senpai said as she pushed me towards a bunch of t-shirts that were on sale.

"Hai, hai..." It was useless arguing against her, and I was too exhausted to do so anyway...

I picked a random t-shirt, and payed for my purchases with Shiromeguri-senpai in tow.

We were walking to the exit of the mall, and we passed by Tatsumi-san's Bookstore. It was already closed, and I realized that it was getting late.

My stomach imitated the sound of thunder, and I saw Shiromeguri-senpai held a hand to her mouth and began to giggle.

I looked to the side to hide my embarrassment. Damn you stomach...

"You must be hungry, Hikigaya-kun, I heard that you know. Do you want to get some dinner?" she asked while giving me a small smile.

While I would seize this chance any day to get a free meal, I was already very tired and wanted to go home as soon as possible.

Well, assuming that she would be the one paying anyway, seeing that she was the one who invited me. But that would have hurt my pride as a man...

"Ah, maybe next time, Shiromeguri-senpai, I'm already worn out you see." I weakly replied.

She gave me a searching look, and then had a look of realization.

"Well, you do look like your'e going to collapse any second now." She said with an amused smile as we continued walking in a comfortable silence.

The sky was dark, as expected. It feels strange hanging out with someone until early evening. Come to think of it, this is the first time I hanged out with an acquaintance...

No, calling Shiromeguri-senpai a mere _acquaintance_ would be insulting to her.

She had helped me a lot, these past few days at work. From the moment I met her, she never showed any hidden intentions, or fake personalities. Nor did she give any observable discomfort when she speaks to me. Whenever we're at work, I would sometimes observe her from afar, trying to figure her out. Oftentimes, I would try my best to look deeply into her words, and I would find myself at a loss, for I failed to see any kind of malice in her...

Be they on the outside or inside.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but I think I can say that Shiromeguri-senpai is my first...

... _friend_.

The thought made me smile, and she noticed it too.

"What are you smiling at, Hikigaya-kun?" she asked with curiosity as her head tilted to the side.

I shook my head, a small smile still framing my face.

"Its nothing."

With that she nodded at me and resumed looking ahead.

We reached the station; the place was abuzz with crowds of people, just looking at those crowds made me dizzy. We stayed outside the crowded area to say our farewells.

"Well, Hikigaya-kun, I'll be going this way." She motioned behind her.

"Yeah." I hand her the bags that I've been carrying for her. She reached out her hand, and our fingers made contact for a moment, before separating.

"I had fun today." She gave me a grateful smile. Truly, a smile that you would want to protect.

"Yeah, me too." I reply.

She inhaled deeply and gave a long sigh. From that simple act alone, I could tell that she too was tired.

It's amazing how a simple sigh can give so many meanings.

"See you tomorrow then, Hikigaya-kun." She gave me a small smile and a wave.

"Ok, stay safe, _senpai_." When I said that, her smile grew bigger. I was trying to suppress the blush that was about to adorn my face.

I returned her wave, and she turned away from me and disappeared into the crowd of people.

I turned around too, and reveled at the sight.

"Well, time for me to go home..." as well I muttered as I walked into the crowd.

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"Haa-chan! Welcome back!" I hear the voice of a small girl.

"Welcome back, Onii-chan!" I hear Komachis voice.

What is happening here?

Those thoughts ran through my mind when Komachi opened the door and greeted me, while Kei-chan hugged my right leg.

"K-Kei-chan? What are you doing here?" I look down on the little girl that gave me a cheeky grin.

"Kei-chan and Kawasaki-nee are here because Mom invited them for dinner!" Komachi explained.

"I see."

With that Kei-chan reluctantly let go of my leg so I can change into my indoor flip-flops.

Wait, Kawasaki-san is here too?

I heard Mom call Komachi, and she quickly went back, but not before motioning me to lean down a bit so she can whisper into my ear.

"Kei-chan and Kawasaki-san are here because Kei-chan wanted to play. Mom arrived from work and invited them for dinner. So make sure to score a lot of points from Kawasaki-san! Tehee~!" she whispered and skipped away towards the kitchen.

Good grief, now my little sister is planning behind my back.

Plus, I thought I told her to stop saying that annoying _"Tehee~!"_ , I felt many of my brain cells die when she said that.

Kei-chan began to pull on my hand, motioning me to with her to the living room. I began to walk awkwardly, the difference in our height, plus the fact that I had to slouch a little, made it look like I was a Homo Erectus.

When we reached the living room, I put the stuff that I bought on the sofa, and I saw Kawasaki-san in the kitchen with an apron around her. The apron hugged her figure nicely, and I can see her long pretty hair tied in a ponytail.

I don't know why, but seeing her like that inside my house made me flustered.

"A-Ah, Hikigaya, your'e back." She said with an awkward smile.

"Y-Yeah, I'm h-home...?" Why am I questioning myself?!

"Welcome back, Haa-chan! Saki-chan~, can you be a dear and put these on the table~?" I heard my Mom from inside the kitchen.

"Y-Yes!" She broke eye contact with me and quickly went to attend to my Mothers request.

"Haa-chan! Lets play!" Kei-chan squealed while still holding my hand. She also pointed to some toys that were cluttered on the coffee table.

That Gundam really looks familiar

Same with that Doremon toy and T-rex…

Hmm...

Hey! Those are mine! Komachi or Mom must have gotten them from my room.

As much as I want to sit down and play with Kei-chan, I was also terribly thirsty.

"Let me get a glass of water first, ok? Haa-chan is very thirsty." I patted her head while she pouted. Her mouth forming into and upside down V.

Kyah! That's so cute!

With that, I went to the kitchen to quench my thirst. I saw Mom expertly handling the pan, while occasionally changing the intensity of the flame, while Kawasaki-san was watching intently. Komachi was preparing the table while humming a tune.

Mom would sometimes give her inputs on her cooking, and Kawasaki-san would ask questions on the proper manner in cooking the dish.

What they were talking about went through my head because cooking isn't exactly my strongest attribute...

After quenching my thirst, I went back to the living room as promised, and began playing with Kei-chan.

She picked up a toy dinosaur and started making guttural sounds, trying to mimic the sound of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex. I chose a Gundam, and I made it fly above as if I was the one piloting it.

Suddenly, she made the T-Rex fly towards the Gundam, its jaws holding the head of my robot.

"Haha! I win!" she exclaimed.

Wait, we were fighting?! Someone give me the manual for this game! I want a rematch! A rematch, I say!

"Kei-chan, thats cheating. T-rexes cannot fly." I say.

"I still win!" she made a bratty grin that reminded me of Komachi.

Good grief...

We continued playing after that, and shortly before I was about to ask if the food is ready, I heard my Mother's voice "Haa-chan! Kei-chan! The food is ready!"

Upon hearing that, Kei-chan got up, held my hand, and began going towards our dinner table.

On the head of the table, sat my mom, flanked by Komachi to her right, then Kawasaki-san. Kei-chan sat to my Mothers left, and I sat next to her.

Oooohhh, the food looks good!

A large chunk of tuna, grilled to perfection lied in all its glory at the center of the table. The other dishes were chicken curry, my personal favorite, some Japanese salad, pork ribs, boiled eggs, and of course, miso soup.

Of those dishes, I only know how to cook chicken curry and boiled eggs haha.

This was a good change to the hotel food that I've been eating yesterday.

I would choose my Mothers homemade food over overpriced hotel food any day!

"Hikigaya," Kawasaki-san called to me from across the table, "I should be seated next to Keika, she might make a mess while eating..."

I look to Kei-chan, and she gave me a pleading look.

HHHHNNNGGGG! Mah hart! Mah sole!

"I think I can handle I messy mouth or two." I say with confidence, I was the one who cleaned up Komachi's mess when she was still little after all!

She didn't know what to say after my reply, so she gave a sigh of defeat.

I gave Kei-chan a thumbs-up from under the table, and she began to laugh heartedly.

My mother smiled at the scene, followed by Komachi and Kawasaki-san.

Amidst the laughter of the little girl beside me, a thought crossed my mind...

I wonder what Dad is doing right now?

Wait, I'm making it sound like he's dead...

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"Hikigaya-shachou, is something bothering you?" I turn and it's one of my employees from the Chiba prefecture. I forgot the young man's name though...

"Ah, nothing, I just feel like I'm forgetting something..." I furrowed my brows and stared at the view outside. Hachiman said that this place had a beautiful view during night time. I believe this place was called, _Cafe Luna_. Tokyo indeed has a spectacular view at night, especially at this height where you can almost see Chiba if you know where to look.

A shame that he didn't stay for a day longer, but who am I to prevent my son from doing what he wants?

I may be his father, but I do not control every aspect in his life.

Before this all happened, my son and I barely had social interactions at home. Me and my wife would always come home late, and our children would be sound asleep as expected. This dragged on for the most of my family life.

With that kind of childhood, I'm proud to say that Hachiman had become very independent. He makes his own decisions, and takes full responsibility should negative consequences arise.

I am proud of him, yes, but at the same time, I feel like I have failed him, as a Father...

A shrill ringtone from a smartphone startled me. I glanced at my companion and he gave me a look said, " _May I be excused?_ ".

With a simple nod that I gave, he gave me a bow and took his leave.

And now I am alone to my thoughts...

"AH!" I exclaim a bit too loudly, thankfully, the other patrons in the cafe haven't noticed. But I finally remembered the reason for my presence here.

Yukinoshita-san of the local Diet invited me for a drink, I wonder what he wanted to discuss about...

And, of course I accepted, what kind of idiot would shy away from free food?

 **CHAPTER END**

WOOOOOOOOOO! Damn this took a while to write.

I will spare you the cliche and overused excuses. (My laptop broke, so I had to write everything on my notebook and then rewrite it on my crappy phone. But now it's repaired and I successfully rewritten everything, of course adding and cutting a few pieces here and there...)

-Shachou means president.

The next chapter would have a time-skip of around three weeks after the events of this chapter. Let's just say that our beloved protagonist is very busy in those three weeks...

So, trivialities aside, what did you think about this chapter? Don't forget to write a review if you want! ( Love reading your reviews, be they good or bad ones.)

You can always write down some suggestions you know...

Ivanov117 here, saying, au revoir.


	8. A Peachy Morning

"Crawl back to the hole from whence you came, you lower life form (Common Earthworm)."

I turn to the source of the sound, and I saw my brother lying on top of the many sofas in the café that our mother owns. I was at the counter, cleaning everything that needs to be cleaned before we can close the shop. Mom was at the bar upstairs, probably helping out her employees.

He's been like that for a while now, just lying there, talking to himself while playing on his PSVita…

Well, I can't really complain, since he already finished cleaning the area that Mom assigned to him. My brother may be lazy, but if he needs to do something, he'll do it "As quickly and efficiently as possible!"

I sighed and continued cleaning the shelves and making sure the top of the counter is clean to the point where I can see my own reflection. Looking around and comparing our place to the other cafes that I have been to, I can say that ours was pretty good.

It had a professional and formal feel to it, and it even made me feel out of place. I'm not an interior designer, but I can say that the theme here was, sleek and simplicity.

Everything, from the chairs and tables, to the ceiling and lights had that same theme. In short, it had a really modern feel to it. A lot of furniture here was custom designed, and now that I think about it, most of the equipment here was really expensive looking. Even the customers that I served earlier had a dignified and respectable air around them.

It's Sunday today, and the sun had already sunk below the horizon around two hours ago.

After I wrap this up, the three of us were supposed to eat outside, because all of us were exhausted at the end of the day.

I had to help out at the café with the orders at the cashier, as well as cleaning the tables after the customers. Mom's bar upstairs has customers at around 7pm, so she had plenty of free time to help me out at the café below.

My brother on the other hand, just came back from his Taekwando lessons. He was at work at the bookstore Monday to Saturday and his lessons start at Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Waaahhh, that must be exhausting…

Poor Onii-chan, Komachi will make you feel really good to relieve you of the stress!

Wait, that sounded too lewd…hehehe…

Anyway, his eyes were looking more dead than normal and I won't even call him dead-fish eyes anymore.

More like, Undead Champion, or Zombie Overlord.

Hmm, perhaps NEET Emperor…?

I took a peek at him and I saw him looking at me with a red glint in his eyes.

"…Oi, you were thinking something rude about me, weren't you?" he asked with a brow raised in suspicion.

I-Impossible! Onii-chan can read minds now?!

"N-No! Haha, what are you saying, O-Onii-chan?" I say while trying my best not to stutter. To lessen his suspicion, I absentmindedly began to clean more vigorously and inspected a smudge on the counter that wasn't really there.

But it looks like it only made his eyes narrow at me. He looked like he was going to say something, but a sound from his PSVita made him switch his attention.

Phew.

The sounds from his PSVita were getting more chaotic, forcing him to put all of his focus on it. His brows were relaxed, but his eyes had an intense look on them while his fingers pushed away on the gaming console.

"You dare get back up? Stay down on the ground where you belong, you lower life form (Maggot).

Onii-chan can get weird sometimes…

"Komachi~, are you done yet? Let's have dinner!" My Mother's voice came from the room behind me which had stairs that led to the bar.

"Ah, I'll be done in a minute!" I say as I began to do my work faster because my hunger was growing by the second.

After several moments, Mom came out of the room and went to the sofa where Onii-chan was lying on.

"Haa-chan, be careful or you might fall off." Mom chided as she began to inspect the area if it was clean enough. Dragging a finger on one of the table tops and checking it, she nodded to herself.

"Yes yes…" Onii-chan said in a low and exhausted tone.

With the last of the shelves wiped of any accumulated dust, and the countertop clean, I did a stretch and basked at my work.

"Mom, I'm done here." I announced proudly.

"Ok good, let's go have some dinner! Where do you want to eat?"

After Mom told her employees upstairs that she was going home ahead, we went outside began walking while trying to decide where we should eat.

And by "we", I meant just Mom and me. As usual, Onii-chan would just reply, "Anywhere is fine.", whenever we would ask him for suggestions. Waaahh, so cool yet so lame at the same time.

In the end we decided to eat at the local family restaurant, and after being led to our table, we went straight into choosing our food.

"Hmm, what to pick…" I say while observing their menu.

"Haa-chan have you decided yet?" I hear Mom's voice.

"I'll just get a ramen and gyoza."

Ramen and gyoza huh…Ah, I guess I'll just get that too…

"Me too!"

With my reply, Mom called the waiter over to get our orders. I took out my phone to pass the time. Onii-chan on the other hand, took out his Light Novel from his bag and began reading away.

"Oi, Komachi. Don't use your phone on the table, that's rude." Onii-chan's voice reprimanded me and I hit him with my right elbow.

"Well why don't you put down your trashy light novel?" I give him a trashy grin from the corner of my eye.

He narrowed his eyes at me and put down his book.

"Hmph, fair enough."

"Haa-chan, how's your work and karate lessons coming along?"

"It's going smoothly, and its taekwando, not karate."

"Ah, silly me haha."

I give Onii-chan a closer look, he doesn't look any different since he started three weeks ago. When he arrives home, he just collapses on the sofa and takes a nap. Even though he's also biking and jogging every morning, I don't really see any changes.

"Where's Dad anyway?" I decide to ask so we can keep the conversation going, seeing that Onii-chan has refused to open his mouth to speak.

"He's been busier at work lately and he's always traveling a lot, that's what he told me." Onii-chan mumbled his reply.

"Waahh…I hope he doesn't overexert himself again…" I hear Mom mutter in a worried tone.

"Ah, now that I remember," Mom says with a faraway look in her eyes and a voice full of nostalgia, "when Haa-chan was still in my belly, your father would always do overtime, and he told me that he would sleep under his desk at his office…"

Ah, so Dad would sometimes go overboard at work huh…

"Hmph, I'm sure Dad wouldn't sleep under his desk now." Onii-chan added as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You're right, he would definitely just fall asleep on his desk." Mom said, and we laughed at her reply.

From there, the conversation went smoothly and we talked about lots of stuff that made Onii-chan grow bored. But he would talk from time to time and add his opinion on the matter. Before long, our food arrived, and we heartily ate our dinner.

The food was surprisingly good, and I was the first one to finish eating.

"Ara, Komachi, you sure are hungry tonight, all the work that I gave you must drained you huh?" Mom said with a small smile.

Ah, but I was still hungry though…

Onii-chan has always been a slow eater, and I can see that he has a far-away look in his eyes while he's eating. Seizing my chance, I swiftly move my chopsticks to the vulnerable and enticing gyoza on his plate.

With a whoosh I take managed to take my target and successfully take a bite from it.

"Oi, don't steal my food…" He said with a more tired and empty voice than usual, he didn't even bother to turn his head and look at me, he's just looking at me from the corner of his eye.

Uwaahh...I should feel guilty about this…

But I don't! Hahaha!

"Too late, hehehe~." I finish the food that I stole from him and stuck my tongue out.

"Komachi, stop teasing your brother, he's probably more exhausted than you are." Mom said and called the waiter to get the receipts of our dinner.

"Haaiiii~!"

Sorry Mom, but teasing Onii-chan is fun!

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **The next day…**

The cold morning air flowed through my face, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand straight. It's been around thirty minutes after sunrise, and the number of vehicles and pedestrians on the street are slowly increasing in number.

Since I started, I think I covered a distance of maybe a kilometer or two. I was supposed to jog around the neighborhood this morning, but I felt guilty since I started neglecting to use my trusty bike.

Don't worry bike-chan, you're still the one for me.

Lately, I've been spacing out a bit, more so than usual that even Komachi and Mom started to ask me about it.

Truthfully, it's because I've been contemplating my actions and the speed of the current developments. The things that my younger self would have never thought of doing.

Is changing myself good?

Why do I have to change?

Have I found a reason that would warrant an immediate need to change myself?

Currently, it feels like change is both good and bad, until you open the box to see what's inside, you can never get a proper answer.

Huh, it feels like I'm in a "Schrödinger's Cat" scenario…

Feeling that I'm about to reach the limit of my stamina, I bike towards the playground in our neighborhood to rest and go home.

As I turned at the corner of the street, I saw a girl wearing a white sweater and gray jogging pants with peach-colored hair walking her dog, I believe the breed was a Daschund. The little brown dog would sniff everything that it came across on the road.

A dog doing typical dog things.

How the girl walked struck me as strange, she's almost dragging her feet on the pavement with her shoulders and head low.

Ah, she must have been forced to walk the dog at the insistence of her parents…

I rode past them shortly, and I didn't bother looking back.

In fact, I think I saw the girl barely keeping her eyes open…

When I reached the playground, I parked my bike beside the bench and began to massage my legs to ease the pain. After that, I did upper body stretching exercises which made many of my joints pop in the process. Finally, I did squats and leg stretches to complete the morning ritual.

Ugh, my arms still hurt after my session at the Taekwondo studio with Shiromeguri-senpai yesterday afternoon…

Tatsumi-sensei was a pretty harsh teacher…

 _"Come on! Stop acting like little wimps!"_

 _"Hit harder! You little sissy!"_

 _"I expected better from my cousin's employees!"_

 _"You! With the dead-eyes! Faster! Keep those legs up!"_

 _"If I catch you that you're slacking off on the training program that I gave you, you're in a lot of trouble!"_

Shiromeguri-senpai was terrified of sensei, and I would cower behind her in a very unmanly fashion when sensei is scolding us.

Damn, I think I even shed a tear or two now that I think about it.

 _ ***Hoh, you really are trying hard, aren't you Hikigaya? ***_

Leave me alone.

Just as I was about to finally take a break and sit down on one of the benches, I heard a dog's barking and I looked to the source of the sound.

The dog from earlier was running freely towards the playground.

But it's leash was free from the hand of its owner.

I watched the dog run around the playground, almost searching for something, and then it saw me and barked. The dog ran towards me with it's little tongue dangling out and its tail wagging.

"Sable!" A girly voice cried out.

I looked around and saw the girl from earlier trying to catch up to her pet.

The little dog reached me in no time and stood on its hind legs as it used my leg for balance.

Wow, this dog is a little bit too friendly. It would make for a terrible guard dog.

Its large eyes looked up to me, and I didn't have the heart to push it away. So, I reached out my hand and patted its head, which earned a pleasant sound from it.

It whimpered in joy when I scratched the area behind its ear.

That's so cute…

From the corner of my eye, I saw the girl's pace slow down as she neared me, a look of relief plastered on her face.

"I-I'm so sorry about that! Sable ran of on his own!" she said through labored breaths.

When I sat straight to look at her and meet her eyes, she flinched at me and unconsciously took a step back.

Oh, come on, you don't have to show your apprehension that much…

"It's nothing, he's a very good dog. A good dog reflects its owner's personality and how much you care for him. He is very lucky to have a caring owner such as yourself." I say as I shook my head to dismiss her apology.

Those words were the same words when a co-worker of Dad visited our house when I was a kid. She commented that Kamakura was a very well-behaved cat and is lucky to have a kind owner like me.

Needless to say, I let it go to my head and I got cocky.

She tilted her head to the side in thought, and then her eyes widened in realization.

"A-Ah! You give me too much credit!" she says while a blush covered her cheeks and waving her hands in front of her in an erratic manner.

The dog, I mean, Sable, got off from my leg and began to bark and circle around his owner. The girl was able to hold her dog, albeit clumsily, and finally lock the leach to his collar.

Now that I have a closer look at her, Peachy here doesn't look bad. She had soft features on her face, her eyes round and full of life, which must mean that she has a happy and outgoing personality. She was shorter that Kawasaki-san and had shoulder-length peach-colored hair.

I'll call her Peachy for now.

"But please, make sure to properly keep him under control next time. It might get him into an unfortunate accident in the future." I reprimanded Peachy in a slightly scolding tone, which caused her to bow and ask for my forgiveness.

After that, she stared at me, as if waiting to continue the conversation, and I began to see that she was beginning to feel awkward at the silence.

I activate my STAND, [108 LONER SKILLS], it has many abilities, one of which includes the quick dispersion of an awkward atmosphere with a lame, but effective excuse!

"You should get going, your do- I mean Sable, is getting restless." I say as I eyed the small dog.

"Ah, you're right!" With that Peachy gave me a small bow and began to turn around, but she stopped, her mouth opening slightly, as if wanting to say something.

I tilted my head in confusion and frustration.

If you want to say something, say it!

I'm not a psychic damnit! Do I look like I have a quirk or something?!

"G-Goodbye!" She raised her hand and gave me a small wave.

"Hmm." I raised mine and she turned and walked away from me. Her dog also giving my foot one last sniff before trotting away.

For the next several minutes, I was just spacing out and staring at nothing in particular.

I wonder what's for breakfast…

A notification alert came from my phone, and I slowly reached into my pocket to see what it is.

Probably just a scam message or a bill from my service provider…

I opened the device and I saw that it was a message from Mom.

Sender: Mom

Haa-chan! I forgot to tell you that your presence is required at school at Friday this week. I also forgot what it was about.

Sorry about that…hehe…

So be sure to go there, or else I'm taking away your PSVita!

Oh no, she's threatening Vita-chan! I have to take this seriously then…

Uwaah, what a drag…How tiresome…

I hope I'm not in trouble or anything…

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Greetings everyone! Ivanov117 here!**

 **Sorry for not updating in a while. I've been reading all the Overlord Light Novels, as well as No Game No Life and I just finished the Akame Ga Kill Manga. I've also decided to replay my Skyrim with a pure Nordic Magic Caster, and I've been having too much fun lol.**

 **You might have noticed that this is a rather short chapter. Well, I decided to chop things up a bit because I don't want too much stuff happening in one chapter.**

 **So, in the next chapter, Hachiman would go to Sobou High to see why he was called. Who knows who he might run into, and what things he may discover?**

 **The next chapter would be most likely released before April ends…**

 **Adios mi amigos!**


	9. The Ice Queen and The Monotonous King

When Mother informed me that I was needed at Sobou High this Friday, I obediently bowed and promised to go there.

But, I can see that my mother was disappointed in me, that I was unable to be at the top of the entrance examinees.

As befits a "Yukinoshita".

She did not outwardly express her displeasure of course, but I can see it clearly on her eyes.

Her eyes that constantly compare me to Nee-san.

Nee-san, who is the epitome of perfection.

The daughter that every husband and wife dreamed to have.

A long sigh escaped my lips, while I closed my eyes and forcefully pushed these thoughts away.

With a clear head, I turn to my side and watch the pedestrians cross the road from the inside of our limousine. There's so many of them, crowds like that are bound to make me dizzy and uncomfortable.

It's already evening, and I can see many weary faces eager to go home and spend time with their families and loved ones.

I spot the occasional couple, some just walking side by side, while others walk hand-in-hand.

At the request of Mother, I was sent to pick up Nee-san at a dinner that she was invited to. The restaurant that she was at was a place that father would frequently go, from what I heard before.

Several minutes later, our driver parks the car in front of a random convenience store and informs me that Nee-san will be joining us shortly.

The right-side passenger door of the limousine opened and Nee-san entered wearing a white jacket over her red evening dress.

"If it isn't Yukino-chan! What a pleasant surprise!" she said in a cheerful manner when she entered the vehicle and took her seat next to me.

I just nodded in reply and returned to staring absentmindedly outside the window.

"Hey hey, what's with the cold attitude missy?" Nee-san said in a mother-like tone as she poked my shoulder to get my attention.

With a sigh, I look back at her and see that she's holding up her phone for me to see.

When I saw what she wanted me to see, my mind froze while my blood started to boil. I could not suppress the blush that was creeping to my cheeks.

It was _that_ picture…

"Yukino-chan, you are very cute. So, don't ruin that cuteness with the look that you're giving me." She said.

"Plus," she added, "why do you look so upset? It's just a photo of me and my-"her words were cut short when she saw the picture that she let me see.

"Oh! Wrong picture! Sorry about that! Hehehe." She gave me a sheepish smile as an addition to her verbal apology, but I ignored her regardless.

I doubt that that was an _accident_ though…

"Here it is!" she said as she handed me her phone back.

Nee-san was at the center of a group picture that included people near her age. All of them wore luxurious dresses and suits, as befits their status is society. They were most likely the sons and daughters of our parent's associates.

If I were in Nee-san's place in the picture, I would have had an uncomfortable expression adorning my face. I was never the most social person after all. I disliked crowds, and I was told that I sometimes act very cold and utter piercingly harsh words. Because of those reasons, I never had any real friends.

"Hmm." My eyes lingered longer than I desired, which caught the attention of Nee-san. I could not understand the reason behind why she showed the picture.

"He's not there you know." She said.

"Huh?" I asked, confused by her statement.

"You know, I asked Father if _he_ was invited, but his father politely declined the invitation addressed to both of them…such a shame…" she said in a sad tone as fake tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

I was still perplexed by her words…

"Nee-san, I don't quite follow what you're talking about…" I say as I returned to her the phone.

"I thought you would get it by now. I was talking about Hikigaya-kun."

" _So_? What about him?" I reply coldly and too fast for my liking. Thankfully, Nee-san ignored it and continued.

"Waaahh, no need to be so angsty Yukino-chan. What do you have against him? I for one, just wanted to hang out and tease him for a bit. He's quite an interesting fellow."

Her tone was…mysterious.

I was not quite sure what the emotion behind her words was…

"I don't quite understand why you took a liking to him." I reply.

"What's this? Are you jealous? Well, you'll find out why if you hang out with him!"

After that, we descended into silence for the next several minutes. I almost forgot that she was sitting right beside me because of how quiet she was.

We entered the business district along the way home and saw many shops and establishments that dominated the area. I saw a café that caught my eye, its name was _The Coffee Hub_. Interestingly, a bar with the name, _The Midnight Tavern,_ was above it.

I wonder if both of them share the same owner…?

The vehicle continued traversing through the streets until we were forced to stop because of the traffic light which was red.

"Hey, isn't that Hikigaya-kun…?" Nee-san finally spoke after minutes of silence. When I turned to her, she was looking outside at the crowds.

I moved my eyes to the direction that she was looking at, and amidst the sea of people, I saw him.

"Yes…I think so." I say.

He…looked quite strange.

He was dragging his feet across the pavement and his back was hunched, he looked exhausted, to say the least. He also looked suspicious because his hands were in his pockets and the people around him looked at him with guarded eyes and kept their bags and phones away from him.

It was almost as if I was looking at a different person, but his ahoge on his head gave him away.

Back at the hotel, he was somewhat impassive and looked permanently bored to death. He was distant and cold-eyed, and looked at everything with disinterest, yet, Nee-san was able to be acquainted with him.

Even with my previous statements being said, I could not help but notice that he emitted, I daresay, a strange aura of confidence, if I one can call it that, and walked with his head held high with a straight posture. Even his steps were sure and full of self-confidence.

I was not even sure if I can call it _confidence_.

But that was the only word that I can describe him at that moment.

As far as I can tell, Nee-san was the only person who approached and conversed with him. While he did not look approachable, he did not try and push Nee-san away and looked quite fine with her as company.

The only time he would break character was when Nee-san would get overboard with her teasing and invading his personal space.

In front of him, were two females, one adult and one nearing her early teens. From the looks of them, they must be related to him because of the similarity in their facial features.

The older of them had light brown hair, but she had a striking similarity to what I assumed to be her daughter. Their only difference was that her daughter had black hair, which was the same with her son.

Both of them were chatting away while walking, while Dead-Eyes-kun was walking behind them and would occasionally add some words to their conversation.

They entered a family restaurant, and a moment later, our vehicle moved forward to continue our journey home.

Nee-san muttered something under her breath, but I was unable to hear what she said.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Please call if you ever need anything, Yukinoshita-sama." My driver said as I began to make my exit from the vehicle. We just arrived at school, thirty minutes before the designated meeting time.

"Of course. Thank you." I closed the door, and a moment after that, our limousine sped away.

I began my walk towards the main building. I was supposed to meet with some of the teachers for some kind of orientation.

As I was walking, I had to agree that Sobou was indeed a very good and prestigious school, as befits is good reputation.

The surroundings were very clean, the trees that had benches underneath to provide shade for the students were trimmed and healthy-looking, even though I was still a bit far, the running tract looked to be well-maintained.

I entered the building and found a bulletin board that had an aerial view of the entire school. I hope that it included directions to specific rooms and other important places because, though I hate to admit it, I am terrible at directions.

When I was a child, I would always hold Nee-san's hand because I would always wander off on my own and would end up crying.

I noticed a figure beside the bulletin board which I had not seen at my first glance. It looked to be a male, and he wore faded jeans and a jet-black t-shirt. Around his shoulder, was a sling bag. He was also staring intently at the school map, as if forcing to memory every single detail of it.

My footsteps echoed as I began to near the board, the sound caused the male to look behind him to see what was causing it.

How could I have not noticed it before?

It was _him_ and his ahoge.

He looked at me strangely and cocked his head to the side, as if trying to remember something important.

Wait, had he forgotten who I am?

"Good morning, Dead- I mean _Hikigaya_ -kun." I nearly called him Dead-Eyes-kun again.

"Huh? Hmm…Umm…Ugh…Ah, yes. Good morning to you as well Sigh-cha-, I mean, _Yukinoshita-san_."

He forgot who I was, didn't he?

And who is Sigh-chan? What a strange name…

"What brought you to school today?" I ask him.

"Oh, I was called for an orientation or something." He said as he scratched his head and returned his attention to the board, which was quite rude.

Interesting…

"The one scheduled thirty minutes from now?" I ask again.

"Yes, that's right. Were you called as well?" He replied and turned to me with a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Yes."

"Ok."

"I see."

"Yeah."

"Indeed."

"Yup."

Our conversation was becoming redundant and meaningless, and I was getting a bit irked.

"Do you mind if I come with you to the office?" I ask.

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ok, let's go." And began walking away without even waiting for me. Honestly, how rude.

Truthfully, I only went with him because I did not want to get lost and getting late for the orientation.

We walked in silence, our footsteps echoed through the hallways. We would meet the occasional teacher and janitor, but other than that we were by ourselves.

Mind you, we were not walking side by side. I was walking five feet behind him, trying to catch up to his walking speed. He did not even try and strike a conversation with me, much less, look behind him.

I also highly doubt that he was part of the top entrance examinees, he does not look the part. Though I try to keep in mind that looks can be deceiving.

We turned and walked a flight of stairs, he maintained his walking speed, while I was out of breath after a minute or so. From the second floor of the building, I can see much of the surroundings below. We passed by empty classrooms, and I caught him give me a glance and quickly look away.

We stopped in front of a room that had the sign "Faculty Room" on the top of it.

Without even turning back to me, he knocked on the door and we heard a "Come in!" from inside. He frowned, with furrowed brows, then opened the door and went in, and I followed him inside.

We were met with the familiar room layout in a faculty room that are common in the schools of our country. Long cubicles for the teachers filled with stacks of papers and office materials and equipment.

In front of us was a girl with dark-brown hair, whose hairstyle was what one would call "pigtails". She wore a white t-shirt with the words "Let's Go! o" printed on the front and black jeans. She was taller than me and Hikigaya-kun, but the difference in her height and his was only a small margin.

"Shi-Shiromeguri-senpai?" Hikigaya-kun said with disbelief. I turned to him and he had a shocked expression on his face.

"Yup yup! It's me, Shiromeguri Meguri!" The girl then made a peace sign with her left hand moved it beside her cheek.

The image annoyed me, but I remained silent.

" _You're_ the President of the Student Council?" Hikigaya-kun asked.

"That's right!"

"How come you never told me that we were in the same school?" Hikigaya-kun asked again.

"Because you never asked your senpai silly!" the girl replied in a cutesy manner that made my eye twitch.

"That's…hmm…I guess so, but did I really not ask you which school you go to?" He said.

"Nope!"

"Ah…" he trailed off while scratching his cheek.

As if noticing me for the first time, the girl's eyes went wide and adopted a more formal posture.

"Ah! You must be Haruno-san's little sister! You look _so_ much alike! My name is Shiromeguri Meguri, by the way." She exclaimed with wide eyes.

As usual, I am referred to as _Haruno's little sister_.

"Yukinoshita Yukino, pleased to meet you." I said and bowed.

"Shiromeguri-senpai, you already know me, so let's get this over with." Hikigaya-kun said in a dismissive manner.

"That's no good, Hikigaya-kun! Learn to be more patient!" she chided as she lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Yes yes…" he muttered.

"Ok! So," she turned to the two of us and put her hand on her hips, "we received a notice last week that the third one is unable to join us today."

Wait, the _third_ one?

Could it be…?

"For now, it would be just the two of you. Please wait here so I can inform the teacher who would be handling you today. Don't touch anything!" With that she walked past us and disappeared behind the doors that led to the hallway.

There was a moment of silence, and when I turned to see what the other occupant of the room was doing, he already sat down on one of the nearby chairs and was already taking out a book from his sling bag.

The book was small, around 400 pages give or take. At the front cover was and illustration of a person in white shiny armor, unfortunately, only a small amount of the armor showed because the person was covered in blood. The person also carried a metallic spear that was taller than itself, and at the top of the spear, pierced and covered in blood, was a human head. Its face contorted into a look of pain and anguish.

 _Chronicles of Incursio_

Hmph, I have never heard of that book.

"Do you need something?" Hikigaya-kun's voice broke through my inner thoughts.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you were just staring at me and saying nothing."

"As if I would want to look into your direction with your soulless eyes." I replied coldly.

"Hoooohhhh…"

Instead of being offended, he smirked at my words while his eyes had a mischievous glint to them.

"Noted, thank you for the compliment." With that, he crossed his legs and resumed reading his book.

Is he looking _down_ on me?

He is, isn't he?

"A typical reply fitting for low person such as yourself."

"Hmm…" he nodded without even looking at me.

"As expected, you can't even form a proper reply."

"Uhuh…"

"Your eyes are filled with lecherousness, I fear for my dignity as a woman."

"Oi…I'm trying to read here…"

"Your very presence is a danger to all women within your vicinity."

"Well, not to my Mother and sister…"

"I feel like I'm being undressed by your eyes."

"Hey, you're making me sound like a pervert..."

"All boys are perverts, it's in your very nature."

"Well, I can't speak for all males, but I don't really care for that kind of stuff."

"It's a miracle how you even managed to get into this school without being stopped by the security guard."

"Now that you mention it, he _was_ eyeing me a bit too closely. He probably thought that I was a delinquent or something." The way he said it in a very blunt and self-mocking manner made me pause.

"Are you trying to be funny? That was tasteless."

"Nope. That happened this morning actually." He said as a matter-of-factly.

"…" I thought that it was a joke, I never thought that it actually occurred.

"..."

"Then the security guard was right to be suspicious of you."

"Of course, I would have done the same if I were in his place. The guard was right to stop and be suspicious to a person with my looks."

I was appalled by how self-depreciating his words can be.

"What are you here for? I believe you are here to be expelled due to that attitude of yours."

"You mean my twisted sense of humor? Hmm, maybe, maybe not. Who knows?" He smirked as he moved to the next page of his book.

Amazingly, he was not affected by the barrage of insults that I sent him.

I was impressed to say the least.

I took a seat several feet away from him. He ignored me and was very much engrossed in his book.

There was utter silence in the room, except for the sound of my breathing and the wall clock. I remembered Nee-san's request several days ago…

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Nee-san said hi."

"Who?"

I turned to him, appalled at his audacity. But instead of a mocking face, I was met with a face full of honest confusion. His head and ahoge was tilted to the side with his mouth slightly open. It was slightly amusing to look at.

"Who?" he asked again.

"Nee-san, you met her at the party, remember? The one who was with you most of the evening?" I say in an exasperated manner as I massaged by brows.

"Hmm…Oh right. Yukinoshita Haruno-san, yeah?"

"That's right."

"Ok, tell her I said hi too." And then he returned to his book.

I was expecting a more… _different_ reaction.

Truthfully, I was expecting him to become a blushing mess and utter incoherent words coupled with stuttering on his part. But I was met with the same look indifference he gave me back at the party.

Once again, silence engulfed the room, suddenly, the sliding door the room slammed open, the noise echoing through the tranquil atmosphere of the room.

"AH!" a shriek filled the air, but it was not mine. Also, I think I saw a book fly above in Mach speed.

I turned to the its source and I saw Hikigaya-kun clutching his chest, his eyes wide staring at the door to the room. I restrained a giggle from my lips through a fake cough.

The barbarian who opened the door in a very barbaric manner was in fact a woman.

Her long legs were covered in black slacks and she wore a lab gown over her black jacket. She had a fierce, yet youthful face and her long black hair freely flowed behind her. What struck me was how beautiful she looked, and how bountiful her chest area was.

A pang of envy in the form of an icicle pierced my heart.

Hikigaya-kun cursed and walked to where he accidentally threw his book. I vaguely heard him say, "This is bad for my heart…"

"Yosh! You two, follow me!" The amazon princess, though I think queen would be more precise due to her age, exclaimed and walked away to the hallway without even waiting for us.

I followed closely, while Hikigaya-kun walked several feet behind me.

"My name is Hiratsuka Shizuka. I'm the teacher of Japanese History and Literature." She turned to us while walking.

"My name is Yukinoshita Yukino, pleased to meet you."

"Hoh, so you're Haruno's little sister? She's told me many things about you."

"Good things, I hope." In all honesty, I am quite concerned as to what things Nee-san tells other people about me.

"You, you're Hikigaya Hachiman, right?" Hiratsuka-sensei said.

"Huh? Um, yeah." Hikigaya-kun replied.

"Shiromeguri talks about you a lot."

"Ah, that's something Shiromeguri-senpai would do." Hikigaya-kun said in a soft tone.

What _is_ the relationship between those two anyway? Are they cousins? Childhood friends? Or mere acquaintances?

Our conversations stopped there, and several minutes later, we entered an empty classroom. Hiratsuka-sensei sat behind the teacher's desk while Hikigaya-kun and I sat the chairs directly in front of her.

Of course, we were a seat apart.

"Ok, so" Hiratsuka-sensei paused, as if for effect, "do you know why you've been called here?"

I looked at Hikigaya-kun and he gave me an expectant look, as if he knew that I would try and answer.

"Well, I think it's about the top entrance examinees." I say.

"Bingo." Hikigaya-kun said lazily while resting his chin on his arm.

"You're both right.", Hiratsuka-sensei said. "Hikigaya-kun, I would like to congratulate you on being able to perfectly pass all the questions of the entrance exam. Only a handful had ever achieved that feat, Haruno included." Hiratsuke-sensei finished while giving me a knowing look.

When I heard those words, it was as if I was hit with a sledgehammer.

Hikigaya-kun was the one who beat me?

I know that there is always a bigger fish, but I expected the fish who beat me to _at least_ look the part.

Not this monotonous and dull person beside me.

"Oi, why are you looking at me like that? You're going to turn me to stone. If you were medusa, I would have had to cut your head here and now." Hikigaya-kun's flat voice was directed at me.

"Yukinoshita, no need to look so upset, the difference between your scores aren't that big." Hiratsuka-sensei added nonchalantly.

"I'm not upset." I reply too quickly in a sharp manner.

"I highly doubt that." Hikigaya-kun said. I felt a nerve tick near my forehead.

"Hoh? And how can you say that?" I challenged him.

He gave a sigh and looked at me from the corner of his eye, not even bothering to face me.

"First of all, anyone can attest that you're upset from the tone of your voice. Your shoulders tensed when sensei announced the results, which meant that you were truly shocked and not expecting it. The way that your hands started clenching all of a sudden is a dead giveaway too…Oh and that aura that you're giving off is cold enough to make even a Russian feel cold."

I was stuck by how right he was. I unconsciously doing all of those things.

How observant can he get?

Seeing that I had yet to formulate a proper response, he shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to sensei who was observing us with amusement.

"Back to the topic at hand." Hiratsuka-sensei cut me off before I could reply. "The top three students of the entrance exams are usually given orientations. The school has high hopes on you, and they expect you to become a role model for your fellow students. Someone that they can look up to, if you will.

So, with this in mind, throughout your school years here in Sobou, the school will always be keeping a close watch on your progress. The three of you will be required at the stage during the opening ceremony for the school year, but Hikigaya-kun here will be the one to deliver the freshman speech.

It's not uncommon for students such as you to join the Student Council. And with you being already acquainted with Shiromeguri, it would be easier for you to enter if she pledges for you. But, it's your choice in the end. So, before we delve into the school handbook, do you have any questions?"

From the corner of my eye, I can see Hikigaya-kun sweating bullets. He must be nervous about the speech part.

"Hikigaya, are you all right? You look deathly pale right now." Hiratsuka-sensei asked as she sat on the desk and faced us while crossing her legs.

Very unteacher like…

As if awakened from a trance, Hikigaya-kun face returned to it's all too familiar poker face.

"Sensei, I'm not confident about my public speaking skills." He said bluntly while raising his hand. Well, at least he was honest. If he began the freshman speech in a poor manner, then it would surely cause problems in the future. His reputation will also be tarnished before the proper classes even started.

So, it was a good move from him to announce it this early on.

"Nonsense!", Hiratsuka-sensei exclaimed, "You will be fine!" she said while giving the reluctant teen a thumbs-up.

Hikigaya-kun released a defeated sigh and did not voice his concerns after that. Though he looked as if he had aged 20 years in several seconds when he made that sigh.

About an hour or two of lecturing later, the orientation finally ended, and we were allowed to go home. But a question was still lingering in my thoughts and I decided to ask sensei about it.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, you said that there were three of us, correct? Who is the third one?" I asked her just as she was about to exit the room.

"Ah, I think his name has Hayama Hayato…" sensei replied while putting her hand under her chin.

So, my suspicions proved true…

"Anyway, you can go home now, that's it for today. Hikigaya, I need you to stop by the office tomorrow for you to pick up the freshman speech, classes start in a week so you better get ready by then." With that, she walked away, her footsteps echoing in the empty halls outside.

I heard a pathetic _"Waahhh…"_ sound behind me, the sound was pitiful, to say the least. Almost like a last whimper from a dying animal.

When I turned around, the pitiful form of Hikigaya-kun slowly got up and walked towards the door, ignoring my presence and turning his back on me.

Before he could step outside the room, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to me.

"Ah, I'll be going ahead, Yukinoshita-san."

"Hmm." I gave him a nod and he went on his way.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As I dragged my feet across the floor, my thoughts wandered to the surprises that assaulted me today.

Shiromeguri-senpai was my senpai at school and that she was also the Student Council President.

I had to give a lousy speech at the ceremony thing.

And lastly, that Sigh-chan, I mean, _Yukino Yukinoshita,_ the girl that I met a few weeks ago at the party, was actually a fellow member of the top three entrance examinees.

Waah, now that I think about it, I almost forgot who she was. That was really awkward back there, so much that I want to crawl into a cryochamber and sleep in suspended animation forever.

Thankfully, I was able to remember her when she made her signature exasperated sigh and putting her fingers on her brows while closing her eyes.

Plus, for some reason she was quite upset when she heard the results. Is she a sore loser or something? Is she trying to prove something to someone? I do recall a conversation sounding like that when I overheard her and her sister's conversation back at the hotel…

 _ ***Oi Hikigaya, that was a little too detailed, are you into Sigh-chan?***_

No, not really. Why would I like a girl who suddenly insulted me not five minutes after we met?

If I was a masochist who would like a girl that insults me and treats me like a lower lifeform, then I would have knelt down and licked her feet on the spot.

But I'm not.

 ** _*Didn't you say "Ah, please step on me, Onee-sama!", back at the hotel? That's what a typical masochist would say.*_**

That was a joke.

Anyway, I also forgot about Onee-sama.

 _ ***Don't you mean Haruno-san?***_

Ah yes, Yukinoshita Haruno. It's also no surprise that Haruno-san and Shiromeguri-senpai knew each other. Speaking of Haruno-san, Hiratsuka-sensei sounded like she knew her personally. I wonder if they were close?

I didn't quite like the number of surprises that I discovered today, if this keeps up, I will die of a heart attack before I reach twenty years old.

And I can't die yet!

I haven't even written my future bestselling book, _Hikigaya Hachiman, on how to become a good Onii-chan!_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Greetings to everyone who reads this!**

 **Hey hey heyyy, it's me Ivanov117!**

 **This chapter was fun to write. I don't really have anything else to say except that NEXT CHAPTER WOULD BE 8MAN'S BIG DAY! How would he be able to handle the freshman speech assigned to him? Would he mess it up? Or would he do it flawlessly?**

 **How would the characters that he met so far react to him at the ceremony?**

 **Let's set that aside for a moment.**

 **Some of you complained about 8man's choice in martial arts, which was taekwondo.**

 **Remember that it was only given to him by Tatsumi-san? Of course 8man wouldn't have it in him to refuse. Because it's free! (Well, a part of his salary was deducted, so his martial arts sessions serve as a form of compensation.)**

 **I'm not going to make him into a badass crime fighting vigilante, if that's what your're thinking...**

 **I'll be going to Japan this May 15 and coming back by the first week of June for our school's cultural exchange program. So I'm not sure if i can write new chapters there...(This would be my 2nd visit.)**

 **Also, please pray for me. I'm terrified of riding airplanes. Hahaha...*cries***

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **See you next time!**


	10. His First Major Hurdle

"OW! Mom, it hurts! Be careful!"

"Stop squirming and stay still Haa-chan!"

I felt Mom pinch and twist my ear.

"OW!"

"I said stop moving! Your hair is already hard to work with!"

I felt the comb rake through my messy hair, a few strands were forcefully removed to the roots.

Needless to say, a tear began to form on the corner of my eye.

Being at the mercy of my Mother as she tried her best to comb and smoothen my hair into a slicked-back style, this was not one of the things that I expected to happen this morning.

After I ate my breakfast and took a bath, Mom forcefully dragged me into the living room and began to work on my hair. Komachi was lazily lounging on the sofa, observing us with a bored expression.

"You have to look nice, today is the first day of classes after all!"

My looks are not my top priority, but I at least want to look presentable though…

"Finally, there we go! Komachi, how does your brother look?"

We both looked to Komachi and she gave me a pondering look, her eyes looking at me from top to bottom.

Hey now, if you look at me like that I'll get self-conscious.

"Hmm, Onii-chan looks like a stereotypical good-looking villain, with his cold, calculative and menacing eyes and all. If he wore a suit, then it would complete the look! Haha!" she exclaimed.

I'm not so sure if that was a compliment or an insult…

"Ok, you're good to go!" Mom said.

After looking at the mirror and checking my uniform one last time, as well as my belongings, Komachi and I bade farewell to our Mother and went outside where Dad was waiting for us with the new car.

He actually bought two, one for himself and one for family-use.

" _I bought two because I was getting a bit out of place during company meetings and conferences where I was the only one who didn't own a car. So, for the past week, I was looking for a pretty badass car that could make my colleagues go, "Wow! That's Hikigaya-shachou for you!". And I picked a Toyota sports car, and also a large SUV for your mother so she can transport supplies and equipment to her café & bar!" _Those were his exact words.

He's been looking pretty excited recently, and when I asked him about it, he would say _"I_ _'m_ _working on something big!"_. Please no more surprises Dad, this is bad for my heart.

The ride to Komachi's middle school was uneventful, and the sidewalk as we drew nearer was becoming more crowded with students from her school.

"After I drop you off, I'm going to go back home and get my car to work." Dad said as Komachi exited from the vehicle and we watched her disappear behind the entrance gate.

"Hmm."

"Hachiman," Oh no, he was using _that_ voice. He only uses that voice when he's talking about something serious.

"Hmm?"

"I know you've been busy lately, with your work at Tatsumi-san's store and your lessons every weekend at the studio. Try not to overexert yourself, ok? Also, I trust you, so I'll leave the scheduling of your work to you. Just come back home before 9:00pm. If something come's up, and I'm not around, call your mother and she'll pick you up as soon as she can. Oh, I have a better idea, you can just hang out at your mother's café so the both of you can go home together."

As I contemplated my Father's words, a thought came to my mind.

"But that would leave Komachi all alone at home…"

Because I was seated beside the driver's seat, I can see Dad's expression. My words most likely caught him off guard.

"Ah, you're right. Well then, if that's the case you can just go home as soon as possible, or you can shorten your working ours during the weekdays and do some extra time during weekends."

"Ok, I'll see what I can do."

"Have you been reading my college books lately?" Dad asked.

"Ah, yes. I bring some to the store and read it whenever I can. Sorry if I forgot to ask your permission."

"It's no big deal. What's mine is yours."

Waah, that sounded really cool. If I was a girl, I would have squealed right now. You just scored a bunch of points there Dad!

"Dad, is there something that I should know that happened recently?" I ask.

"H-Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about." Then he started whistling and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

He's a terrible liar, as always.

We were only a few minutes away from my school, but as we thought the road was clear, a small dog suddenly came running out from nowhere and was running towards the middle of the road.

"Dad watch out!" I yelled out in alarm.

"What the he-!" Dad exclaimed as he pushed his feet on the brakes and aggressively moved the steering wheel to avoid hitting the animal.

The car swerved violently to the left and I heard our tires screech from the friction and the sudden change in acceleration and direction. We were only a foot away from hitting the streetlight when our vehicle finally came to a violent halt.

"Shit!" Dad cursed from his seat. Thankfully, the both of us were unscathed and we were wearing our seatbelts.

"Bloody arse…" I couldn't help but curse on my own. Even life-threatening scenarios would make me lose my cool.

I wordlessly hopped out of the vehicle to see what became of the dog. I could see the black marks on the road that our tires made, the nearest one was still smoking. After quickly walking around the car and checking for damages, I gave Dad a thumbs up and I saw him give a sigh of relief. I heard the soft patting sounds and spotted the small dog running towards me.

Wait, that dog looks familiar.

Expertly, I managed to get my hands around it's small body and lift it up in front of me.

Hmm…

This was the dog from the other day…

Its brown eyes looked at me curiously, and it tried to lick my face when I got too near. Its tail was wagging wildly, if it got too fast, this little dog might fly away.

"Sable…?" I say.

When I said its name, its ears perked up and barked at me. If Sable is here, then that means…

"OH MY GOSH ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" girl screamed behind me.

When I turned to look, the girl was running towards me.

Hmm, she looks familiar, have I seen her before…?

The imaginary lightbulb at the top of my head beside my ahoge lit up when I saw the color of her hair.

Hmm, peach…

Peachy…

Ah, it was Peachy…

She had a look of relief and fear on her face, and when she recognized who I am, it was as if she saw a ghost.

"IT'S YOU FROM THE OTHER DAY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" She screamed, this time, closer as she was moving her hands all over my body, eager to see if I was ok.

I know that you're worried and all but can you at least hold back a little bit…? I feel like I'm being molested in public.

When she saw that I was not hurt, she gave a sigh of relief.

...

...

...

And thrust her arms around my neck and put me in a bone crushing hug.

"WAAAHH I'M SO SORRY I KNOW YOU TOLD ME TO BE CAREFUL THE OTHER DAY BUT I FORGOT TO LISTEN TO YOU!" she cried while I was fixated on the spot.

Oi, she's crying for real!

Aside from that, I felt her assets pressing themselves into my chest and I was cringing my body away from her. If anyone saw the scene, it would have been very funny to look at.

"I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" she repeated those words and stopped when I put a hand on her head.

"There there, at least no one was hurt." I say as I pat and rub her head. She stiffened at the sudden contact at first, but then she calmed down a bit.

I used this trick a lot on Komachi when she cried, and I read that this is an effective means of comforting a crying girl.

When she let go of me, her face was a mess. Her eyes were already red while fresh tears were running down her cheeks. Her nose was also puffed and red.

Phew, it's good that she let go of me, I was starting to get uncomfortable with the prolonged physical contact.

I remembered that I had a handkerchief with me, so I grabbed it from my pocket and gave it to her.

"Here you go." I said.

"A-Ah, I couldn't possibly accept that. I already caused you so much trouble…" she replied while looking away.

"Nonsense, a handkerchief not used to wipe a person's tears, especially that of a woman's, is a waste." I say without thinking.

Shit, now I regret it saying it. S-H-I-T!

It was a line from one of my Light Novels.

Waahh, that was super cringey.

The Cringe level is over 9000!

Ok that was so embarrassing I want to die…

Instead of punching me, she sported a small blush and reluctantly accepted my handkerchief.

"T-Thank you…?" She said as she batted her eyelashes at me while she looked at me with curious eyes and a small blush.

If you're gonna look at me like that, then I'll DEFINITELY fall for you. So please stop before I kneel down and ask for your hand in marriage. I steeled myself and wiped all unnecessary thoughts in my head.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." I said and did a small bow

"Hikigaya…?" she immitated my action but looked like she was deep in thought.

"Yes, and you are?"

"A-Ah! My name is Yuigahama Yui!"

I heard the door to our car open and I turned to see Dad step out of the vehicle. When he saw me, he began walking towards us.

"H-Hikigaya-kun, is that your Dad?" Peachy asked.

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm sure that he'll brush this off." I replied coolly.

I didn't notice that Peachy hid behind me when Dad was already near. Hey, Dad's not scary y'know? Yeah, he _does_ look scary with his eyes but he's a pretty chill guy ok?

"Hachiman? Who is that girl behind you…?"

I quickly sidestepped, which made Peachy visible to my Dad.

"M-My name is Yuigahama Yui, I'm the owner of the dog from earlier…" she said with her voice barely audible.

"Oh! Is the dog ok?"

"H-Huh?"

"I'm asking if the dog is oka-" Before Dad could finish his sentence, Sable came from behind and started barking and running around him.

"There he is! What a tiny bundle of energy." Dad reached down and patted Sable's head. "It's good to see that he's alright. There's no need to apologize by the way, no one was hurt and it wasn't anyone's fault. Just an unfortunate series of coincidental events."

Hooh, Dad's so cool, he even made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

He straightened up and said, "I am Hikigaya Joushirou, and this is my son, Hachiman."

"Thank you Mr. Hikigaya, my name is Yuigahama Yui." Peachy said with a small smile.

Dad nodded when Peachy said that, and then gave me a look a that said, _"Lets get going before you're late."_

"Hachiman, it's time to go. I don't want you to be late for school." He turned to me after looking at his wristwatch.

The ceremony doesn't start for an hour and a half though…

"Hikigaya-kun…your uniform, are you a student from Sobou too?" Peachy asked curiously.

Wait, _too_?

"Mm."

When I replied, her eyes started to shine bright.

"Really?! I'm a freshman too! The ceremony is still an hour or something from starting, why are you going to school so early?" she tilted her head cutely to the side.

Even with my supreme intellect, I had not prepared a back-up plan for that question.

"O-Oh, I just wanted to get to school early, t-that's all." I say as I started whistling and avoiding her gaze.

Her mouth formed into an "O" and nodded in understanding.

Dad gave me look that said, _"Hurry up!"_.

"Well, Peach- I mean, Yuigahama-san, I'll see you at school." I say in a rushed tone, hoping that she would sense the urgency in my voice. Thankfully, she did.

"Mm! Let's go Sable!" With that she started jogging to the direction where she came from.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _"Hey, is that the guy who perfected the entrance exams?"_

 _"The scrawny guy with black hair and has lifeless eyes? Yeah, that's him."_

 _"That's insane, hard to believe that there's a guy like him at our school."_

 _"He looks really average-looking though, I expected someone different."_

 _"Look at his eyes though, he looks like a villain."_

 _"Yeah, like a typical Bond villain."_

 _"He looks scary, is he a delinquent?"_

 _"The girl who got the 2nd highest is pretty cute. I heard that she's from a rich family."_

 _"The blonde guy who got third looks handsome. Someone said that the three of them all come from rich families."_

 _"I know, the name Hikigaya rings a bell. I think his father is an entrepreneur or a businessman of some sort."_

 _"Tch, typical, I bet they bribed the school or something..."_

Good grief…how annoying…

Those were the words that I heard when the three us walked through the path led to the stage. But I didn't really care what they were saying.

Thankfully, the sounds that the students were causing was at a tolerable level.

The third guy, some blonde fuccboi whose name I couldn't bother remembering, Sigh-chan and myself, walked in that order towards the stage.

Sigh-chan was awfully quiet, she hasn't even spoken a word to me. Is she mad at me or something...?

Why am I even expecting her to talk to me, she's not even my friend anyway.

I saw familiar faces in the crowd.

Kawasaki waved at me from the lines of students. The last time that she came over, we both agreed that we would drop the honourifics when addressing each other.

Peachy arrived late, and was surprised that I was part of the top three.

I saw a blonde bimbo narrowing her eyes at me, and I returned her stare with a bored look. She did a "Tch", and looked away.

For some reason, Onee-sama was there too. She was standing nearest to the stage, and was one of the loudest of them all.

"Hachiman! Hachiman! I'm so proud of you!"

Teasing me this early in the morning, good grief...

She even screamed my first name, I thought of some things that would make her scream my name, but I pushed those thoughts from my head before I get flustered.

If I did, then that would mean that she won!

I don't want to succumb!

I REFUSE!

DAGA KOTOWARU!

I was so nervous earlier that I thought I was gonna faint. Thankfully, Shiromeguri-senpai was there to help me calm down with her STAND [FLUFFY HARMONY], and helped me calm my nerves. She also came to deliver a message from Onee-sama.

 _"Hikigaya-kun, if you feel nervous, just think about the fact that you beat all of them and deserve that position! Think of them as mongrels and lower life-forms!"_

The fact that it sounded so wrong and egoistic distracted my head for a while. Which made me temporarily calm down.

She even said it with her usual smile on her face…

As I looked at the microphone in front of me, I looked to the other two.

Sigh-chan had a determined look in her eyes. She gave me a cold look that said, _"Don't screw this up..."_.

Good grief...how cold...

The blond fuccboi gave me a refreshing smile. Don't look at me like that, what if there's some fujoshis in the crowd that's gonna make a yaoi fanfiction about the both of us?

I made a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for this bothersome activitily.

"The seasons of our world are ever changing. Spring. Summer. Fall. Winter. The melting of winter's ice sustains the seeds of spring. Each season ending and starts anew. We have graduated middle school, and now the next obstacle is three years of High school. All of us are fresh seeds waiting to grow to our full potential, but that potential is entirely up to you to uncover and exploit. As time passes, you will discover your strengths and weaknesses that defines who you are. You may not be confident in your public speaking skills, but you have the skill to craft inspiring and insightful speeches. You may be excellent in doing activities alone, but you discover that you are terrible when it comes to teamwork. You might have the highest score in Humanities, but your grades falter in the Sciences. Honing your strengths and analyzing your weaknesses will be crucial in the years to come. Some of you have already found out what they want in life, while others are still trying to figure out their path. You might have been inspired by your parents, your older brother, or maybe a celebrity or an athlete. In the end, you chose someone to be your role model, unknowingly or not. No matter what background we have, we are all equals while we stand on the grounds of this institution. Whether you come from a rich, poor or middle-class family, it matters not. You may have heard of this school in the news, on the Internet or even from a recommendation from someone you know. From the moment that you decided to enroll here, you have made a commitment to yourself. A commitment that you should keep until you graduate here."

I paused and cleared my throat. But that was just an excuse, in reality, I was starting to talk to fast and my voice was quivering. Some of the students noticed, and they were whispering amongst each other.

That was a close call, it would have been bad if I had caused a blunder.

My eyes wandered to the front of the crowd nearest to the stage. Among the teachers, I saw Hiratsuka-sensei, Shiromeguri-senpai and Haruno-san among them. Hiratsuka-sensei gave me a worried look, while Shiromeguri-senpai and Haruno-san looked determined. The later, giving me a thumbs up and a grin.

The sight helped alleviate my nervousness, and I nodded in acknowledgement at them

"You have accomplished many things that have led to this day. Sleepless nights studying for the entrance exams, time spent reviewing instead of spending time with friends and family. We have all made sacrifices, no matter how small they were. But your sacrifices have earned you the fruits of your labor. Your middle school days are over, and a new page is your life is flipped. The next three years here will be difficult, and obstacles will be constantly thrown at you. But with sufficient effort and sacrifice, you will surely succeed. No man is an island, no man stands alone. Never forget the bonds of friendship that you forged in your middle-school days, but don't hesitate to have some new friends now. Many of you might be strangers to each other now but in the near future, you will call each other as friends. In time, you will learn to support each other in times of great need."

I had to stop and cough for a second there.

The last part about the friends tasted so bad in my mouth that I hope that I didn't make a strange face when I said it. It sounded so wrong coming from a guy like me, ugh, cringe material right there…

I have…to…finish this…only…a few…sentences…left…!

I activate my STAND, [108 LONER SKILLS]!

PLUS ULTRAAAAAA!

"Disregard the past and look to the future with your head held high! If you had any regrets back then, then I implore you to not repeat your past mistakes! This is your chance to show the best of your ability! Sobou has high expectations of you, and it is your job to meet those expectations! This is the freshman representative, Hikigaya Hachiman, and I welcome all of you to Sobou High!"

My throat was dry after saying my piece, and I think I did well. But I think I sounded too aggressive at the last part. Well, at least I didn't stutter or my voice cracked.

It was at that moment, where I realized that the school ground, that was occupied my more than a hundred people, was deathly quiet. The sea of students in front of me were eerily quiet, yet their eyes were on me.

It started with a lone sound, which I pinpointed to the front of the crowd. Shiromeguri-senpai was slowly clapping her hands while looking at me with a dazed expression. It was followed by Haruno-san, then Hiratsuka-sensei, then all the teachers and school directors joined. A few seconds after that, as if broken from a trance, the lines of students broke into a frenzy of cheers and grand applause.

I turned to the two beside me and they were clapping as well, although Sigh-chan refused to meet my eyes. I was standing on a raised platform on the stage so I had to literally look down on them.

"That was great Hikigaya-san!" The blonde fuccboi said while flashing me a refreshing smile. Oi, I thought I told you to stop giving me that smile? And stop looking at me like that like what the heck.

"I'm just glad that its over…" I say as I begin to step down from the podium to take my place at the center between the two of them.

"Hikigaya-san, are you ok?" Fuccboi asked me as he put a hand on my shoulder, his facial features told me that he was worried.

"Yes, I'm fine."

A gust of wind came at us, and his hair was slightly ruffled by it. A few sakura petals made flew between the two of us and I felt one of them land on the top of my head.

As the crowd began to calm down a bit, a lone girly shriek came from somewhere inside it.

I _know_ that sound.

It's the sound that a fujoshi makes when she sees BL material, followed by excessive giggling and, for some reason, nosebleed. As my eyes scanned the crowd, I saw a girl with black shoulder-length hair with red rimmed glasses, and she had the after effects of a fujoshi after seeing BL material.

She looked familiar, and I think I had met her before…

"Hikigaya-kun, please stop ogling at women in public, it is very unsightly." A cold voice from beside me spoke.

"Yukinoshita-san, please stop lecturing and eyeing my every move. Were you hired by my mother perhaps?" I reply. We were facing forward and not looking at each other but we were having a verbal battle.

"With your eyes, every woman that you look at can be labeled at ogling."

"And with that mouth of yours, every word that comes out of it can be labeled as an insult."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"I only retaliate when I am provoked, thank you." I coolly reply.

"Are you saying that I am the one provoking you?" she said and the air around me turned cold. Unfortunately for her, I have already developed antibodies that are somewhat resistant to her verbal attacks.

"A blind man can see that from a light year away."

"I am simply doing what is expected of me."

"Well, _Ojou-sama_ , is constantly berating me one of the expectations that you imply?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw her slightly blush when I called her Ojou-sama. But it quickly disappeared.

"Telling someone like you would just be a waste of my time."

"Hoh, then maybe someday, you would tell me, _Ojou-sama…"_

"I highly doubt that. Please stop calling me that, it would be preferable if I'm excluded in your sick fantasies."

"If I had any fantasies, I can assure you that you are _definitely_ not included in them, _Ojou-sama._ "

"Good grief…" she said and put a shoulder on her brow.

"Umm, guys? Have the two of you calmed down yet…?" Fuccboi said and called our attention from my right side.

I said nothing, and simply faced forward with a poker face. I can tell that Sigh-chan did the same from the corner of my eye. Instead of being offended by not being giving any sort of acknowledgement, Fuccboi did a sigh of relief and returned facing forward.

Good heavens, this morning is already draining my health bar…I hope I have some health potions with me…

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _AAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnnnnndd, we're done!_

 _Hey hey! I'm back from Tokyo bois and grils!_

 _We went to SO many places that I have to ask my foster sister to remind me lol. But the one place that I wanted to visit was Meiji shrine. T'is a shame that we had no time to visit the shrine…_

 _Ok enough of that! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter._

 _How did you think 8man fared in his welcoming speech? I think I'll give him a 7/10 for that._

 _Aside from a few, EVERYONE that 8man met during the school break was there! But I think he forgot one or two of them though…_

 _I bet some of them think that he's a pretty cool guy, but unfortunately for them, he's not!_

 _Sorry if chapter 8 was a bit rushed. I decided to decrease the length of each chapter because when I reread chapter 7, it was a mess and so many things happened in one chapter alone._

 _So yeah…_

 _Don't forget to write a review!_

Sayonara minna-san!


	11. An Unexpected Bespectacled Face

The breeze gently caressed my face, like a mother's soft touch, cooling down some of the beads of sweat that were accumulating on my forehead. The Sun was hiding behind the clouds above me, so it was quite safe for me to go out right now.

Wait, I sounded like a vampire…

I can faintly smell the sea from the scent carried by the wind. It didn't make me feel nostalgia though, I'm quite indifferent about beaches. It's too hot and the sand gets everywhere and its annoying.

My solitude was interrupted by the ringing of my phone, with a frown, I placed my bento beside me to get my phone from my pocket.

 _From: Silly Imouto_

 _The lunch that you made was great Onii-chan! You should do this more often! 3 3 3_

With a small smile, I put away my phone to finish my lunch. She's giving me too much credit, I just followed the instructions, that's all. The lunch that I cooked is nothing special.

The past few days went by in a flash.

After the freshman ceremony, classes immediately started. I found out that I was classmates with Yukinoshita-san, to my _utter disdain._ Her face of horror when she found out was hilarious.

 _ **Flashback**_

" _By an unfortunate turn of events, it seems that you and I are classmates." She said coldly when first period ended and I passed by her._

" _A misfortune to be sure, that I have to endure your cold gaze day after day." I gave her a mocking bow, but I swear I saw a hint of amusement in her eyes._

" _Ara, the feeling is mutual, though your gaze is quite hollow and empty." She imitated my action, which earned strange looks from some of our classmates._

 _I think our little game is getting a bit overboard…_

 _The last thing that I want is for rumors to start spreading…_

 _ **Flashback end**_

I also fell asleep during some of my classes, I even skipped lunch period yesterday because no one woke me from my nap! I was exhausted that morning because I was reading the special guidelines made by the school for the Student Council Seats.

And the Seat that I just recently occupied, is that of the Disciplinary Committee Head, thanks to the good word and backing of my _oh so Fluffy and Bubbly Shiromeguri-senpai._

Without telling me first!

She just dropped it on me like an N2 mine like, " _Hey Hikigaya-kun! Guess what? I made you the head of the Disciplinary Committee in the Student Council! Good luck!"_

I complained to my family at home, hoping that they would see it from my point of view, but my plan backfired.

" _If you back out, the Student Council and many of the teachers will think that you're a lazy bum, Onii-chan."_

" _I was part of school organizations during my younger years, it helped me land a good job and I gained many important experiences from it. I suggest that you accept it, Hachiman."_

" _Wow! That's good news! That's my Haa-chan!"_

Their optimism, especially that of my Mom's, was so strong that it broke my A.T. field, and I lay on the floor wounded and my will to live broken. But what my Dad said sounded really important, so I decided to give it a try.

But I still think that this is hard work though…

And if I'm going to refuse the offer, I bet Shiromeguri-senpai is going to say, _"Don't believe in yourself! Believe in ME! Believe in your Shiromeguri-senpai that believes in YOU!"_ , or something like that…

I look to my watch and was alarmed that my next class is going to start in fifteen minutes, so I went back to eating my lunch. At a normal pace of course, it would be a shame if I chocked on my food here at the roof of our building, after all, no one would be able to help me.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

We had an assignment for our History subject, it was about the political structure of the early shogunate in Chiba, so I decided to go straight to the library after classes for the day ended. I did know the basic stuff but I wanted to get more in-depth information.

As I zoomed across the hallway with increasing speed like a certain blue hedgehog, (GOTTA GO FAST!) I heard a familiar voice.

"Hikigaya-kun!" a girly voice called out from behind me. There were some students, but one with Peachy hair caught my eye. Her black outer vest that was worn by female students was loose. Oi, I have the authority to inflict upon you the proper disciplinary action right now!

Ah…Peachy…

I moved near the wall so we wouldn't cause traffic for the other students.

"Did you need something?" I ask.

I forgot her name…

"Nothing! I just wanted to say hi, that's all!" she said with a cheery expression.

At that moment, an alarm that has been long dormant within me, started going off at an alarming volume.

She was one of those _nice girls_.

I had yet to build up an effective immune system to counter the likes of _them._

"A-Ah, well…hi…?" I say while being unsure of my words.

"Hi! The freshman speech that you did the other day was really nice!"

"Oh, I see. Thank you."

I expected her to reply, but she looked hesitant. Opening her mouth to speak, only to close them again, she was also fidgeting a bit.

"Say, are you going home now?" She asks with an expectant and hopeful look.

My middle-school self would have made ridiculous assumptions on her statement and his heart race, but I am no longer the foolish child that I once was!

I am now the **ULTIMATE LIFEFORM!**

"I'm on my way to the library to borrow a book for advanced reading, so I have to get there as soon as possible because someone might get the same idea." To add effect to further cement my statement, I glanced at my watch in an obvious manner hoping that she would take the bait.

She did.

"A-Ah! I'm sorry that I bothered you!" She quickly apologized.

"Please, don't worry about it. Well, I must be on my way Yuigahama-san."

Thank God I remembered her name just now.

"Mmm! I'll see you around then Hikigaya-kun!" With a quick bow, I take my leave with quick steps.

But not before I catch a few words from her.

"Maybe next time then…" I barely heard her due to the background noise and the distance between us.

Strange, I wonder what did she wanted with me…?

While I was walking in the hallway on my way to the library, I became aware of the fact that some students were staring at me or giving me quick looks. Most of them looked as thought they were "sizing me up."

I was going to return a MENACING glare of my own, but I decided against it. It would be bad if negative rumors started flying around…

Well, there _are_ already rumors about me that say that I'm a delinquent. I'm quite the opposite in fact, and I'm proud to say that I'm an outstanding member of society.

Because the library was in another building, the number of students that I encountered began to diminish in number, it was still around an hour and a half before sunset so the sun was still bright outside.

I entered the library and greeted the librarian with a bow, with each bookshelf showing information on the types of books that it harbored, I was able to find the book that I was looking for in no time.

Unsurprisingly, the library only had a few students, most of them had their noses in books, furiously reading and taking down notes. Good grief, that kind of behavior would get you nowhere. Studying should be done in a relaxed manner, doing so in the opposite kind would give you zero results.

I sat down in the quietest place of the library, a small part beside the window a few meters away from the nearest table. With a sigh of relief after having found my fortress of solitude, I took out the book that I got earlier and began doing my homework.

Thirty minutes later, I was finished and began stretching my shoulders which have gotten stiff from my sitting position. I can feel many of my joints pop and make cracking noises. From the corner of my eye, a female student was walking towards my table. She had shoulder length-hair and wore red-rimmed glasses and she carried a large book with her.

As she got nearer, I realized that she was giggling at herself as she held the large book close to her chest.

"Hehehehe…"

What the heck is with this creepy girl…?

And then I realized, that I had heard this laugh before. I couldn't remember when, but I'm quite sure of it…

She was looking down while walking, but when she looked up and locked eyes with me, I beheld a face which I never expected to see again.

"Hinatata…-san…?" The bespectacled girl in front of me had a surprised expression when I called out to her.

"Ara, Hikigaya-san, so you do remember me after all." She replied. With her free hand, she pushed away a few strands of her hair.

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

"Well," she paused and her eyes looked up, as if trying to dig through her memories, "I thought you already forgot about me because when we saw each other at the other day, you didn't acknowledge me."

"Ah, I'm sorry then. My mind must have been somewhere else during that moment."

"But still, I never expected you to be the first of the top three, much less, that you and I were schoolmates." She continued and plopped herself on the chair across of me. Oi, not even asking if someone's sitting there?

Noo! An intruder has invaded **Hachiman's World!**

"Well, it also came as a surprise to me when I caught wind of the news…" I mutter back. Damnit, now that she sat down, it would be too rude for me to immediately excuse myself. I want to go hoooome…

We descend into silence, and I returned to absentmindedly scanning over the pages of the book, when in fact my mind was going at light-speed on ways to escape this situation. I glanced at the girl in front of me, and she was also busy reading the book that she brought with her.

"So, did you get the job?" she asked suddenly.

"I'm sorry?"

"The job at the bookstore, didn't you say that you wanted to get a part-time job there?" she replied. Ah, I think we had a conversation like this when we first met.

"Yeah. I work there during the weekends." I say.

"Hooh, that's nice…" Her voice trails off as her flips another page of the book that she's reading.

"Hmm…"

While we were basking in silence, voices began to assault my ears. It sounded like it came from a group of noisy girls. The librarian must have been out if they were able to get away like that.

" _Did you see the guy from 1-A?"_

" _The one who had a perfect score during the entrance exams? Yeah, why?"_

" _I heard a rumor that he and the girl who got second place are a couple."_

" _Heeh?! Really?! But he looks so painfully average!"_

" _Maybe she has a thing for silent guys like him? I've never seen him talk to anyone except her and the Student Council President since classes started."_

" _They talk weird to each other. Too formal but at the same time, its as if they're mocking each other."_

Ew, gross.

The third line made me want to vomit.

 _Me_ and _Yukinoshita_ , a _couple_? Impossible. Ridiculous. Preposterous. Incredulous. Far-fetched. **DISGUSTANG!**

If that was a joke, then it crossed the line for me!

But they were right on the last part. I haven't talked to anyone except the dreaded Ice Queen and my Fluffy Bubbly Senpai. Well, my _talks_ with _her_ were actually a mutual rocket barrage of insults. The girls in my class avoid me as though they were scared of me. And the guys were busy with themselves to bother me.

Hmm, speaking of _The-Bane-of-my-Existence_ , I haven't seen her approach anyone to converse with them. Some girls are probably intimidated by her.

Well, I _did_ talk to Yuigahama-san earlier, albeit very short. I also saw Kawasaki during the opening ceremony, but I haven't seen her since.

Ah, what was his name again, Hayasomething-san? We saw each other the other day and he waved at me, but I thought he was waving at someone behind me so I ignored him.

All in all, my social interactions since classes started were quite small. Well, it wouldn't hurt using my vocal cords every now and then…

"You're still so popular, I see." Hinata-san grinned at me behind her book.

I just gave her an exhausted sigh.

"So, what did you think about _The Iliad_?" I asked her. Hopefully she still remembers the pseudo-promise that we made.

Her eyes met mine and then lit up when she remembered what I was talking about.

"Ah! It was beautiful! I loved the interactions between Victor and Achilles! The ending was a bit sad, but it gave way for the next book, _The Aenid!_ " She exclaimed, the volume of her voice increasing with every word.

Hey now, if you get any louder, I'll have to give you a good spank- I mean, _reprimanding_. Talking loudly in the library is prohibited, y'know?

"I see, one of my favorite parts was when they opened the gates from the inside, very clever if I may add."

"I know right? Oh, what about the book that you bought at that time?"

" _The Silmarilion_? It was great, I finished it in no time. The story was a roller coaster of emotions. At one point you feel happy that the protagonists were strong enough to keep the enemy at bay, and then suddenly at the next chapter they were betrayed by a someone within their ranks. It tends to get depressing at times though…"

"Hooh, that sounds interesting, I might give it a try."

Our conversation went on for some time, Hinata-san was the one doing most of the talking, while I would occasionally give my own inputs on the topic at hand.

She talked about her first impression on the school and her first days of class. Apparently, she was in class 1-B, and Hayasomething-san was her classmate. She said that many of the girls in her class were already smitten with him.

As expected of Fuccboi-san.

"What do you think of him?" she asked me, her eyes had a curious glint to them.

Oi, you should ask that to a girl, not a guy. If a fujoshi caught wind of our conversation, it would make her think that I'm a gay.

"Oh, well, I don't know. We only exchanged very few words with each other."

She gave a disappointed sigh at my reply, was she really looking forward to my interactions with Hayasomething-san? Why though?

"Well what do you think of him?" I ask her in turn.

"Hmm…so far, I think he's a go-with-the-flow kind of guy." She said after a moment of thinking.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I think it's woman's intuition."

What a vague answer, I was hoping for more details for possible blackma- I mean, _family friendly data._

 _*Wow Hikigaya, we didn't know that you were cunning and thinking that far ahead. *_

 _Cunning_ makes you think of backstabbing and untrustworthy individuals, I prefer the word, _information broker_.

Now that she said her part, I think Fuccboi-san isn't really a Fuccboi. I think he's one of those _nice guys_.

There was a brief moment of silence, both of us thinking on each other's answers. It was then that I realized how late it was, the windows around us were giving off an orange glow, that must mean that sunset is nearing.

"It's getting late huh…" she said and looked around. "Ah, we're the only ones left."

I took a moment to glance around my surrounding and true to her word, there were no other occupants in the room except us.

"It seems so." I say as I gather my belongings.

 _Please don't ask me to go with you. Please don't ask me to go with you._

 _Please don't ask me to go with you. Please don't ask me to go with you._

"Hikigaya-san, do you mind if we go together?" She says as she picks up her book and her bag.

Nooo! I wanted some alone time!

I hid my disdain and just nodded at her. If my mother found out that I refused an offer of lady to escort her outside, she would flay me alive and make my skin as her winter coat. We returned our books to the proper isle and bid farewell to the librarian.

Our footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway, the last few beams of orange light penetrated the windows. I looked outside and saw several students going home in pairs or with their groups of friends.

"Hikigaya-san, is your house far away?" Hinata-san inquired.

"No, it's twenty minutes by walking and ten minutes by bicycle."

"I see, I still have to walk to the station and my house is three stations away. Oh, would you look that." She said and pointed outside. I followed the direction to where she was pointing and it led to a lone figure waiting at the entrance to our school.

But even from this distance, and thanks to my enhanced eyesight, lol, I can tell that it was my _oh-so-friendly-and-warm_ classmate. She must be waiting for her driver or something.

"Hmm." I see that Sigh-chan is still know throughout school.

 _*Hikigaya, you're pretty known too, y'know."_

Yeah but I don't really care.

We reached the main entrance to our school in no time and proceeded to change our shoes. But as we were about to walk to the exit together, a group of girls came into my field of vision.

"Ah! Ebina-san! We were looking for you!" One of them exclaimed and came to us.

Ebina? Who's that?

With a quick look behind me, I confirmed that there was no one behind us.

It's either mistaken identity, or its Hinata-san. I don't recall her telling me her full name.

"Mayase-san! What's up?"

"We have a group activity tomorrow, remember? And we haven't planned yet, so we were hoping that you could come with us."

Hinata-san's face lit up in embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry that I forgot! Hikigaya-san, is it all right if I go?" she turned to me and asked.

Don't ask me that. I'm not your father, or your older brother, and I'm _definitely_ not your boyfriend so please stop, you're making me feel self-conscious. I can already feel the curious glances of the other girls, so stop before there's a misunderstanding.

"Ok, I'll be going on ahead, Hinata-san."

When I said her name, the other girls had looks of confusion.

" _Hinata…-san?"_ I could see them mouth the words.

Huh? What's with that reaction?

Hinata-san's face however, sported a blush when I said her name.

Oi, was it something I said? Did I mispronounce her name?

"Bye bye, Hikigaya-san!" She literally grabbed my arm and dragged me outside, then she waved me goodbye, with a flushed face and her companions sported confused ones as they looked at us curiously.

The group of girls then went away and disappeared from my line of sight.

With a last look at the main building, I continued my journey to the bike stand where bike-chan was waiting for me. Sigh-chan had already disappeared by the time that I resumed walking.

"I wonder what's for dinner." I mutter, and then I remembered that I lost a bet to Komachi and I have to cook tonight.

Well, I guess its curry for everyone, maybe with grilled fish and miso soup…

Good grief…the things I do for love…

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 ** _Helllloooo everyone!_**

 ** _Itsa me, Ivanov177 eh!_**

 ** _So my favorite fujoshi just made her 2nd appearance! For the next chapter, I'm planning to introduce Miura (Alot of you seem to like her, for some reason...) and I already have a solid story on how everything should turn out. I was planning to add another Hikigaya x Hayama parody for this chapter for the lolz, but I decided against it. Ebina would love that though hahahaha._**

 ** _Have any of you read the 12th volume of Oregairu in English translation? I haven't read it yet._**

 ** _Don't forget to write a review so that I can know your thoughts on this chapter! I really enjoy reading your reviews!_**

 ** _Till we meet again!_**


	12. A Rainy Meeting

Damnit, I should have (not) stayed up until 2am playing that damned game! I admit that I had fun, but now I'm going be late for my first class!

Komachi already left, Dad hasn't been home in a week and Mom is still sleeping.

Kamakura! You should have woken me up! You bad kitty cat!

I hurriedly took a bath and brushed my teeth, when I got out of the bathroom, Mom was at the kitchen brewing herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning Haa-chwan~…Do you want some coffee?" she yawned tiredly.

"Morning Mom, I'm gonna be late. See you later." I grabbed a piece of toast and put it in my mouth. Before she can even fully comprehend my words, I rushed passed her and went outside to get my bike.

"Bike-chan, show me the meaning of haste…"

And then I began to pedal like there's no tomorrow as if attempting to break the sound barrier with my bike.

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Hikigaya! You're fifteen minutes late!" Hiratsuka-sensei said when I opened the door to our classroom.

"Please forgive my tardiness." I mutter in a bored manner. That was a mistake, for I saw the signs of annoyance on her face.

She looked as if she was an inch away from hitting me with a book, but she looked in the direction of Yukinoshita-san with a suspicious grin.

She's up to something…

"Yukinoshita, did the class already select the male class representative?"

The girl then put a hand under her chin and thought for a moment.

"Not yet, I believe…"

Sensei's grin got wider at her reply.

I have a bad feeling about this.

"Then, as punishment, I want you to be the male class rep."

What the…

"Sensei, I believe that the voice of the people need to be heard, we _are_ following a democratic system, are we not?" I say quickly.

Ha! Take that!

She gave a small scowl at my reply and turned to the class once more.

"Class, do any of you have any complaints about Hikigaya being the class rep?" she asked.

Everyone shook their heads, but I feel that they couldn't care less as to who took that responsibility.

What is this?! My plan backfired?!

"Yukinoshita?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked.

"I…have no qualms…" she said in a defeated manner.

"Good grief…" I mutter. This morning just HAD to start like this.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!" Stop being so angry geez…

"That's what I thought, now greet your new partner!"

This day has started getting worse by the hour…

"I look forward to working with you…" My mouth tasted bitter when I said those words.

"I as well…" Yukinoshita muttered.

Of all people, why did it have to be _her_?!

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Hikigaya-kun, it would be best if you don't walk too closely to me. I might get infected with your germs." She said as she cringed away from me.

"Ah, I see. I forget that a sheltered princess such as yourself has such a non-existent immune system." I silently complied to her request.

"Your germs are too advanced and complex for our current technology to effectively build a defense against." She said coldly.

"Hoh, and how did you know that? Did you get a sample of my hair? Saliva? Sweat? Did you analyze them thoroughly to come up with that conclusion? I must say, Yukinoshita-san, that is a very strange hobby that you have." I had to smirk at her with my retort.

"That is disgusting, but you just implied that you _do_ have germs." I thought she was about to give a smirk of her own, but she stopped herself from doing so and resumed looking straight ahead.

"We _do_ have bacteria on our body yes, but not all of them are germs. There's good bacteria too, y'now." Don't generalize that _all_ bacteria are bad just because of a few bad ones!

"Do not lecture me on biology, I believe we discussed this already in class. We had a quiz about this."

Yes, and we both had perfect scores.

Our conversation stopped there as we continued walking to the faculty room to get the class handouts. Lunch break just started, so many students are roaming around the corridors.

A few of them were murmuring amongst each other as their eyes watched us from afar. They were probably shocked at how ghoulish I looked because of my lack of sleep.

I mean, if I _was_ a ghoul, I would have to go to the funeral homes to eat dead bodies, but that sounds like a chore.

Ugh, I haven't had lunch nor breakfast yet.

As I was thinking about what food to eat, my stomach had to imitate the music of its people.

"…"

"…"

My face was the usual poker emotionless poker face, yet my mind was thinking of ways on how to effectively crawl into a hole and bury myself in shame. I'm thankful that Yukinoshita-san isn't one of those teasing-types.

If it was Shiromeguri-senpai or Haruno-san, they would have teased me until I wanted shave my head, change my name and move to China.

I reached the door to the faculty room and knocked before opening the door.

"Hikigaya, I'm right here." Hiratsuka-sensei called out to us when we saw her.

"I already photocopied this, all you have to do is to distribute it among your classmates."

It was a big stack of papers and I divided it equally between myself and Yukinoshita-san.

"Just come back here later, go eat your lunch first." Hiratsuka-sensei said.

"Hmmm." She gave me a searching look at my reply.

"Oi, are you ok? You look pale." She said in a concerned tone as she winced at me.

"I'm alright." I say, though I know that I looked otherwise.

"And I'm guessing that you haven't had breakfast yet, right."

"W-Well…"

"And you're late because you stayed up all night. Playing games or reading manga?"

"U-Umm-"

"Don't give me that look, I was a student once too, you know. Those are fun and all but don't forget to get a good night's sleep. I don't have to tell you to study harder since your grades are already the highest in the class."

Yukinoshita-san, who was really quiet, frowned at Sensei's words. Still the competitive type, are we?

"Don't worry Yukinoshita, your grades aren't that far behind from his. Oh, I almost forgot." Sensei reached into her pocket and fished out two small papers for us.

"These are lunch stubs that I bought yesterday and seeing that I already bought some fast food with me, you can have this."

Nice! Free food!

"Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei." I say as I was trying to hold back my tears of joy.

"You're welcome. Now go to the cafeteria and eat, you look like you're going to collapse any second now."

We said our goodbye and exited the faculty room. I handed Yukinoshita-san her lunch stub but she politely declined.

"Cafeteria food is unhealthy." She said.

"If you say that near any of the school cooks, you're going to get in trouble." I warn her as I reflect on a similar experience back in middle-school.

During middle-school at lunch time, I always ate by myself. At one point, I caught a bunch of classmates putting stuff on my food. That was the last time that I ate a proper meal at the cafeteria.

After that, I only bought Yakisoba bread and milk in a small carton.

But at least I had a lot of savings at home.

"As a manner of fact, it _is_ unhealthy." She insisted.

"Fine, have it your way." A moment after I said that, a stomach growled in anger, but it was not mine.

"…"

"…"

"Give me that…" she said in a cold and commanding voice, but her face sported an embarrassed blush.

"…" I handed her her's without a word, I wasn't about to tease her, seeing that she didn't tease me earlier.

I stand true to my words, _I only attack when I am provoked_.

Without further exchange of words, we went to the cafeteria together.

A truce, between the King of Hollows, and the Queen of Ice.

Wow that was a pretty cringy name and now I regret saying it.

However, when we reached our destination, I forgot to anticipate the sheer number of students in the area. Crowds made me uncomfortable and dizzy, and I unconsciously stepped back.

Curiously, the girl beside me did the same, although her expression said that she was _way_ more distraught than I was.

"That's alot of people…" I mutter as I observed some upperclassmen accidentally shoving aside a fellow student.

"Indeed…" Her small voice barely above a whisper.

Without a word, I snatch her meal stub.

 _Whoosh_

"W-What are you-"

"Go look for a table, it's easier this way. It's impractical if we both go together and there's no tables left. One of us has to get the food while the other looks for a vacant table." I cut her off before she can reply.

She frowned at my actions with a disapproving stare, but finally accepted and excused herself to do her part.

I was afraid that she might start arguing with me again, and we might cause a scene.

And pulling more attention towards myself is _definitely_ not one of my objectives to day.

I watch her walk away, her black hair swaying as she walked.

After several minutes of waiting in line, I finally get our lunches composed of steamed vegetables, some beef curry and some tea. I spotted her sitting alone in the corner just staring off into space.

I placed our food on the table in front of her. She didn't notice my approach and was startled at my sudden appearance.

"Don't do that." she said as I placed her food in front of her like a good waiter.

"Do what?" I ask as I placed mine.

"Never mind…" she replied in an exasperated manner. Good grief, what have I done now…?

I sat down and observed that we were the only ones that were occupying the table, the nearest occupied table was two tables away. I could see some students, mostly girls, giving us curious looks and whispering amongst each other.

I swear, if I catch wind of any weird rumors…

""Itadakimasu…"" We both said in unison and started eating.

We were silent the entire time, but the silence was comforting. Quite the opposite from the chatter of our fellow students around us.

She had an air of elegance when she ate, every movement with her hands was well-rehearsed and even the way she opened her mouth was very ladylike.

She caught me looking at her and raised an eyebrow with a slightly annoyed look. I just shook my head in reply and resumed eating.

"The food was good." I say after finishing mine.

"It's…satisfactory, to say the least." she said.

After elegantly wiping her mouth with a table napkin, she looked around us and had a look of mock-surprise on her eyes.

"Ara, it looks like you managed to trick an elegant young lady like myself to eat with you. You even managed to manipulate me into finding a table where we can have privacy. I never knew that you were this cunning, Hikigaya-kun." Her eyes held the familiar glint whenever we would exchange cold and fiery words.

Here we go again…

"My mind is as sharp as that tongue of yours, Yukinoshita-san."

"Hoh, I fear for my life, now that you caught me alone and vulnerable."

There she goes again, branding me as some sort of sexual deviant…

"Do not worry Yukinoshita-san, _Ojou-sans_ are not to my liking. Cease the fear in your heart for I will escort you to your Lord father immediately, I hope he has the ransom gold." she had a small smirk at my reply.

"Though I must ask, why, as an heir to your House, do you act…the way you are right now?" I inwardly smiled at her reply. It's good that she caught on the flow quickly.

I understood what she meant of course, and I already had an answer prepared just in case she asked me that.

"I am free as the wind and not bound to any social obligations and whatnot. My Lord father gives me his utmost trust, and for that he has my sincerest gratitude."

She frowned at my reply and looked down with a thoughtful expression.

Hey what's with that look?

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break. The students around us began to get up.

"Hey, we should go…" I tell her.

"Hmm…"

I picked up our used utensils and brought it to the kitchen staff. Yukinoshita-san tried to deny my help at first, but she gave up when I refused to listen to her.

We both walked back to our classroom eager to resume classes.

"Hikigaya-kun…"

"Hmm?" I turned to her with an eyebrow cocked.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." I reply as I returned facing forward.

We might throw each other insults and taunts, but we both knew that it was just for amusement. I can see that she enjoys our verbal battles, and I do too.

It's good to speak with someone who thinks on the same wavelength as you.

Now that I think about it, today was the first time in my life that I had lunch with a classmate…

And enjoyed it…

"Hikigerma-kun, I thought i told you now to stand too close to me? Is a simple instruction like that so hard to follow?"

Tch, this damn girl never gives me time to rest, doesn't she?

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

Ugh, I hate this.

The night air is hot and damp it feels gross and heavy. I think I just produced a gallon worth of sweat walking to Mom's cafe from the station. I received a text from Dad that we're going to eat outside tonight. He hasn't shown up in a week and he suddenly throw this surprise at me?

Good grief, and here I was about to go home and continue playing the new hyped MMORPG that came out last week. My character was a healer, one of the most sought-after party members, but also the most underappreciated class at the start of the game.

The warrior class is too mainstream and it's always in the center of attention. I prefer hanging in the back and doing my part from the background.

Our raid last night went great, and everyone congratulated each other. Although no one congratulated me…

The only one that congratulated me was the in-game notification…

After that, my party members decided to send each other friends requests, and of course, as expected, no one sent me one.

Bah! I don't need them!

If I can level up high enough, I can upgrade to the crusader or paladin class! The former boasts strong healing spells and a large health pool, while the latter has average healing spells but has higher damage output.

I don't need party members! I'll do it myself as I've always done!

I'm thinking of taking the crusader class, in a war of attrition, its more practical to get the sub-class that can take the most hits than the enemy.

As I was running numerous simulations on my head on how to level up more efficiently, three students in front of me caught my attention.

Two were males while the third one was a female.

The males wore an unfamiliar uniform, and I guessed that they were from another prefecture or maybe a school that I didn't recognize here in Chiba.

I made a detour because I checked out the local manga store, so now I was walking in a dimly lit area with only a few people around from the maid road.

As I got closer however, the female's uniform began to get clearer.

It was a uniform of Sobou High.

"Hey there missy, you wanna come with us?"

"Come on let's have fun!" The two males insisted as the took a step towards the girl, which made the latter step back in caution.

"H-Hey! Stop bothering me you creep!" The girl sounded fierce, but I can hear the fear in her voice.

This looks like a typical scene you would see in a TV series…

 _*Hikigaya, aren't you going to help her? *_

Ugh…

"Hey, what's going on here?" I call out in a demanding manner. Three heads faced me and the two males look surprised at the sudden entrance of a stranger.

The girl turned to me and her eyes went wide. Does she recognize me from school?

"Haah? Mind your own business wimp." The aggressive males approached me and I had to internally sigh at the situation.

In the animal kingdom, male gorillas or lions would always have displays of strength when threatened, only doing violence as a last resort. Male gorillas would thump their chests and charge towards the threat, while male lions would roar and charge too.

But they would hesitate when they realize that the target is unafraid of them.

Maintaining eye-contact means that you are unafraid and makes you look threatening. While not moving from your spot means that you are unaffected by their displays of intimidation.

Doing this while make _them_ feel intimidated, and they might even back down.

It's the same in Humans.

I am doing my best into intimidating them out of this, if all else fails, well, it looks like I'll gave to use the things that Tatsumi-sensei taught me at the studio…

The two of them approached me, as though sizing me up. The three of us were roughly the same height and build.

"You misunderstand, this is _my_ business, the girl that you are harassing is a schoolmate of mine." I say in a flat tone.

With a small movement with my head, I signal the girl to get behind me, which she quickly does.

But her wrist was grabbed by one of the boys.

"H-Hey! Let go of me!" She yelled.

"Stop that." I say while trying to make myself sound more intimidating.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" One of them cheekily asked.

You might be suggesting that I would use violence, but I won't. Honestly, what kind of hooligan would go around picking fights? That would only make me look like a common delinquent.

I have more important things to do than dirty my hands with this nonsense.

Important things like playing on my Vita-chan, for instance.

"Maybe I can talk you out of this." I said in a calm manner.

"Fine, give me 10000 yen and me and my friend here will be on our way." They gave me an shit-eating grin.

"Resorting to robbery? That's a crime." I replied.

"No shit Sherlock."

"And crime could get you in jail." I told them flatly, though the weight behind my words were heavy.

"If you get in jail now, you would get a criminal history. When your schoolmates catch wind of that, your reputation will go down the drain and you might get shunned by the entire school. You might be barred from enrolling in certain collages because of that record. No college means no job. No job means no future." I say in a cold tone that would make Yukinoshita-san proud of me.

I can see their resolve falter and his grip loosen on the girl's wrist.

Time to use my untested negotiating skills to the maximum.

"Tell you what, here's 2000 yen, go buy dinner or something. Talk with your friend here on why things turned out like this. I'm sure you have better things to do that harassing girls like this, go to the arcade or something, I don't care. You should change for the better...before it's too late." I wordlessly fished out two one thousand-yen bills from my wallet, handed it to them. The guy released his grip on the girl's wrist and quietly took it from my hand.

"..."

"..." They were at a loss on what to say, their faces both held traces of different conflicting emotions. Anger, surprise, sadness, self-disgust and of course, remorse and guilt.

"Goodbye and good luck to the both of you." I say and walk away from them back to the main street. The girl followed close beside me.

When they were out of earshot, I let out a sigh of relief. Damn I was so nervous that my hands started to sweat.

"Umm…" the girl muttered and couldn't look at me straight in the eye.

"Are you alright?" I asked her and she jumped a bit.

"Did they do anything to you?" I ask her again, this time, I couldn't suppress a frown on my normally calm face.

"N-No, they didn't. They just wanted me to go with them…" she said, and this time, I finally got a look at her eyes.

Her green eyes were red, which meant that she was trying her best not to cry. She was acting tough before, but I can tell that she was legitimately scared. It's good that I arrived just in time…

"I see, that's good." I once again let out a sigh of relief. I'm sighing so much that I think I'm becoming like Sigh-chan.

"We should talk over there, it's too dark here…" she pointed to the main street.

"Mm…" I nodded at her and walked towards that direction.

I noticed that she was walking too close to me and our shoulders were touching.

Don't invade my personal space please, I already have one touchy feely girl in my life at home and I don't want a stranger in the mix.

"Thanks for saving me back there, those guys were pretty annoying…" she said.

"Hmm..."

When we arrived at the main road, she breathed a sigh of relief, and I finally got a good look at her.

She was pretty. Her blonde hair was long, but not as long as that of Kawasaki's. She also wore a cardigan of some sort over her school uniform. She was prettier than the average girl one can see at Sobou, and if we met on different circumstances, I would have thought that she was a model.

Her long-exposed legs looked smooth and toned. Is she an athlete? I guess she doesn't skip leg day.

 _*Hikigaya, you're sounding like a perv. *_

Hmm, now that you mention it, yeah…

"Hi-Hikkio…?"

Huh? I turn to the blonde beauty beside me.

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Hi-Hikkio…?" I say with hesitation.

He turned to me with a confused look, his gray eyes met mine and I had to will myself not to look away.

"Huh?" he asked dumbfounded.

Of course, why am I not surprised?

I knew his name started with a "Hi-" but I forgot the rest of it! What was his name, damnit!?

It's on the tip of my tongue!

"Ah, hehe…" I brushed it off with an awkward laugh. Maybe he has a nameplate on? I did a quick check on his uniform and he didn't have one.

"...Oh yes, we haven't introduced each other, yet have we?" he said with a look of realization.

"Yeah…"

"My name is Hikigaya Hachiman, pleased to meet you." he said and bowed. That's it! _Hi-kigaya_!

He said it in a very formal manner and he even bowed too.

"Miura Yumiko." I say and imitated him.

He looked as if he was going to say something, but he took at look at my purse instead.

And then his eyes widened.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him before looking at my purse if there was anything strange on it.

"Nothing…" he said dismissively and waved his hands in front of him while avoiding my eyes.

"Well, Miuro-san, wha-"

"It's _M-i-u-r-a_." I repeated.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm not good with names. What were you doing in that place? Don't you know that it's dangerous to walk in places like that?" He said in a reprimanding manner, his brows knitted together to form a look of disapproval.

Oh no, he's starting to sound like my Dad...

"A-Ahaha...I was trying to find a shortcut to the station..." I say as I scratched my cheek with my finger.

"Is that so..." he sounded like he was doubting my words.

"Hey! I'm telling the truth!" I exclaimed.

"Hmm..."

The sudden sound of thunder startled me and I looked up to see if it's going to rain.

Hikigaya-kun looked at the sky with a bored expression.

"Hoh, the weather report didn't say anything about rain this evening..." he muttered to himself more than to me.

He was about to say something, but he saw something behind me and walked past me. What the heck, how rude! Is that his way of saying goodbye?!

I stood still watching his retreating figure, until he stopped in front of a nearby vending machine. He looked behind him and was confused to see that I disappeared from his side.

He caught sight of me and gave me a look that said, " _What are you even doing there? Why didn't you follow me?_ "

Ugh, what's with this guy? I don't get him.

"Oi, catch." He said and a second later, a drink was flying towards me.

"H-Hey! What gives?!" I barely managed to catch the damn thing. He leaned down and got his own can, MAXX COFFEE huh...

"Nothing, you just looked thirsty." He said in boredom and opened his drink.

Of all words…why did have to describe me as _thirsty_ …?

I looked at mine and it was orange juice.

Hmm...orange juice...? Why do I get the feeling of Déjà vu…

...?

Hmm...

...

...

"Ah! You were the guy at the sports store before!" I exclaim excitedly. What are the odds that we could meet like this?

"Uhuh, you were wearing a skirt back then, if memory serves right..."

Eww...

I take a step back from him and tried to cover any exposed skin from his lewd gaze.

"Eww, Hikkio, are you a perv?" I say in a grossed-out manner.

"Not really. I'm not interested in that stuff." He said and returned a cold indifferent-look at me. He was definitely being serious right now, and I feel like I'm the one being immature.

A sigh of relief escapes my lips, I honestly thought that he was one of those pervy types...

"Still, it was your fault back then." I pout and turn away from him.

"Hey, I already apologized. And you shouldn't have brought a beverage into the store in the first place." He replied. Ugh, he got me there...

Another clap of thunder rattled the sky, and I involuntarily grabbed the nearest thing that could keep me safe from the storm.

Unfortunately, that thing was Hikkio's arm.

Because he was taller than me, I had to look up to take a peek at him.

And was greeted with the same impassive gaze with a hint of annoyance and an unamused-look in his eye.

Huh? No reaction at all?

Was he emotionally constipated or something?

I was about to let go of him, but with his other free arm, he took an umbrella from his bag and opened it.

A moment later, the rain poured around us.

"You were going to the station, right?" He asked.

"Yeah...?"

"Then, let's go."

We began walking together to the station. I wanted to let go of his arm because I was feeling embarrassed already. He walked like a robot, his eyes in front and not even turning his head to look at his surroundings.

Ah, we must look like a couple...it would be really embarrassing if we bumped into someone we knew...

Oh no, did I just set up a flag...?

Slowly but surely, I let go of his arm, and he adjusted to make things easier.

"Thanks for the drink, by the way." I say.

"Don't mention it. I had some spare change on my pocket and it was already starting to be annoying." He said flatly.

Haah? What the heck was that? Is he a tsundere or something...?

I willed myself not to laugh, though my shoulders started to shake and a squeak escaped my mouth.

"Miura-san, is something wrong?" He asked in a confused tone.

"N-Nothing's wrong, Hikkio...hehehehe..." I was barely able to make a sensible reply, but he shrugged his shoulders and resumed looking ahead.

I heard a lot about him. Like he's from a wealthy family, or that he looks like a delinquent. I even heard a rumor that he cheated during the entrance exams.

Sure, he looks kinda creepy, but he's just your average high school student, from my point of view, at least.

Though he's kinda stoic and too quiet for his own good. Plus, he carries this unapproachable and intimidating aura or something.

Not to mention his eyes would make anyone stop dead in their tracks.

The rain was starting to get stronger, and my partner was walking a bit too fast.

I nearly slipped while walking on some stairs, but Hikkio managed to hold me.

His grip on my left shoulder was firm, and thanks to that, I was able to recover quickly.

That's the 2nd time he saved me today...

"I'm sorry if I walked too fast." He said suddenly.

He's surprisingly considerate...

"Stop apologizing. It's not your fault, you know..." I hit him in the ribs with my elbow.

His only reaction was a grunt.

A while after that, we reached the entrance to the station.

"Miura-san, do you still need to walk from the next station to your house?" He asked.

"Yup. Why?"

Without a word, he shook his umbrella away from us to get rid of the droplets and handed it to me.

"Here."

"Eh?"

"Take it."

"O-Oh, thank you." Wow he's a thoughtful one, isn't he? You don't see guys like him every day.

"Take a bath when you get home. You were wet and it would be a shame if you missed school tomorrow." He said as I received the umbrella.

I would have slapped him for that innuendo, but, as he said, he's not that kind of guy.

So, I'll let this slide, for now...

"Yes Daddy." I nonchalantly reply as I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

If he ever becomes a father, I'm sure that he'll be the overprotective type.

His normally impassive face morphed into that of embarrassment. He had a frown but he looked funny while his face had a blush.

"Don't call me that." He said with a disapproving stare and a blush on his face.

Ok now I admit, that was a bit embarrassing. I'm sure that there's a blush on my face and I'm pretty sure that he noticed it too.

An awkward silence enveloped us, and we tried our best not to look at each other. The entrance to the station was just behind me, and I could sprint there as fast as I can for all I care.

"J-Jeez, that was just a joke Hikkio." I tried to play it off coolly.

He gave an exasperated sigh, "Miura-san, my name is _H-i-k-i-g-a-y-a_ , not Hikkio."

Oh, I've been calling him that, wasn't I?

"Nah, I'll just stick to Hikkio." I grin at him and he had a look of defeat.

"Well, I should get going. Thanks for everything Hikkio. I'm going to drink the orange juice in the train." I grinned again hoping for a reaction.

He gave me a look of disappointment and said, "That's against the rules...".

I may be wrong but I think I saw the slightest trace of an upward curvature on his left lip.

"Goodbye then, Miura-san. Oh, before I forget." His eyes scanned my body slowly from top to bottom, and I noticed that it lingered a bit on my skirt.

"You perv!" I was about to punch his left arm but he grabbed my fist in mid-air.

"Keep quiet for a moment." He gently let go of my fist. I was honestly surprised that he managed to grab it.

"Your skirt..." he muttered as he put a hand under his chin and closed his eyes, as if trying to remember something.

I pulled my skirt down to cover as much skin as possible.

"What's with you and skirts?!" I had to keep my voice down, it would be annoying if people looked at us funny.

"It's too short."

"Huh?"

"According to the school rules, the girl's skirt should end directly above the knee or an inch above it. Your skirt is definitely beyond it."

Hey I look cute in this! And an extra inch above isn't as bothersome as it sounds.

You're a guy! You'll never understand the cuteness of this uniform!

And wait, how was he even sure about the inch thing? Did he secretly measure my skirt or something?!

"I'm going to give you a warning for now, but if that skirt remains the same next week, then I have to send you to the disciplinary office." He said with a serious air around him.

I scoffed, does he think I'm a weak girl who easily gets intimidated?

Who the hell does he think he is?

"You don't have the authority." I spat.

Again, his lips curved upwards, but I can feel as if time itself stopped.

Like...a void of utter emptiness and despair enveloped me and I found it hard to breathe.

"Oh, but I do. I happen to occupy the seat of the Disciplinary Committee Head." He replied.

Oh.

Well…

Damn it, looks like I've been caught by the big fish himself...this coincidence is just plain ridiculous.

"Fine fine, I'll get it done ok? Jeez you take your job way too seriously. You should loosen up more." I say in defeat.

He had a thoughtful look and contemplated my words.

"I'll keep that in mind..." he muttered.

Why does he always sound so cryptic?

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miura-san." He said and bowed.

"Yeah, take care Hikkio."

He gave an exasperated sigh at my words.

What is it now?

"My name is Hikigaya, not Hikkio..." he said while massaging his brow.

I stuck out my tongue and walked towards the train card scanner. I gave him a final wave, and he returned one of his own.

And then he took off his black uniform jacket, put it on his head and ran outside in the rain.

A pang of guild pierced my very heart when I saw that.

I thought he had an extra umbrella with him, why would he go out of his way to help a stranger like me, to that extent?

How kind...

He told me to take care of myself, but he should listen to his own words.

I swear, if he gets sick of this, it'll really leave a bad taste in my mouth...

Hikkio...is a pretty cute nickname, now that I think about it...

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _Hello everyone!_

 _I hope I wrote everyone as canon as possible, please tell me if I did ok with Yumiko. Yeah so one of the most highly demanded heroines finally makes her appearance!_

 _Some of you were starting to think that Yukino was outright bullying Hachiman and being super toxic with him._

 _That's not the case, as you might have discovered in this chapter._

 _Their relationship is like a dangerous dance of swords, and the dance itself is quite knew to the both of them. That's all I'll say for now._

 _A dance of playful barbs, is what I'll call it._

 _So, I'm thinking Haruno next chapter or Yui…_

 _Or maybe Saki…I dunno…_

 _So yeah, that's it._

 _Don't forget to write a review! Or drop a suggestion or two while you're at it._

 _On other news, I downloaded Nekopara because I thought it was a cute Visual Novel._

 _It turns out that it was actually an eroge._

 _Feelssadman…_

 _Ivanov117 signing off!_


	13. A Busy Sunday Morning

Ah, sweet Sunday...

The only day where I can relax and be a good-for-nothing lazy trash piece of trash...

Oh, my nihilistic and self-loathing tendencies are showing.

It's a good thing that we don't have martial arts lessons today too, Tatsumi-sensei was going to Osaka for to judge a competition or something. But I still have to go to work at Tatsumi-san's bookstore later.

I once told myself, that "To work is to lose." And I still believe that, at times.

But if working gives me a decent amount of pocket-money, along with a discount for every book that I purchase, then damn even my middle-school self would have to pause and consider his options.

I managed to buy many books for leisure and for academic research materials.

And NO, it's not _THAT_ kind of stuff.

But lazing around is making me hungry, I want some snacks...

"Komachi, go to the store and buy Onii-chan some ice cream."

"Haaiii, Onii-chan~. Give me some money then~." She said sweetly and skipped over to the sofa where I was lying on.

Little sisters are awesome.

If you train yours long enough, and spoil her to oblivion with gifts while being extra affectionate, then she will return your actions with undying loyalty, love and obedience.

I'm proud to say that my little sister is at the top of the little-sister scale, maybe even beyond it.

I gave her 1500 yen from my savings.

"Buy as much ice cream as possible with this." I tell her with conviction, as if the fate of the world was in her hands.

"Y-Yes! I won't let you down Captain!" She replied with determination before running off to the door.

Oi, did she even wear slippers or something?

I shrugged and left her to her devices and returned to playing on my PSVita.

I already finished studying for our prelims exams yesterday, so now I have some free time.

Dad went south, I have no idea where, while Mom was visiting a friend who was hospitalized. So, because I'm the only man in the house, I'm in charge. Cash is not a problem since I have more than enough funds on my debit card.

And since I'm a good-for-nothing cheapskate, I'm confident in our survival, plus, it's not the first time that they left us alone at home.

Some eggs, cup noodles, milk, rice and salmon, and we're good to go.

I heard a "meow", and a moment later, Kamakura jumped on my chest and made himself comfortable. After stretching a bit, he rolled up into a ball of fur and went to sleep.

Uwahh...so I'm a pillow now...?

I carefully move Kamakura next to me so I can get up.

I still have 4 hours before my shift, what to do...

Ultimately, I decided to do some house cleaning. I'm quite good at housework, and I'm pretty sure that within 10 years, I'm a certified house-husband.

But I'm guessing that my parents would definitely disapprove of my path in life, so I have no choice but to succeed my father or I will be disowned and kicked out of our house.

With terrifying speed and efficiency, I scrub the bathroom, do the laundry, sweep the floor, pound the doormat, water the plants and wipe the dust from our shelves and cabinets.

And lastly, I cleaned my room just in case some friends come over.

Oh wait, I don't have any friends...

I don't know how much time passed, and before I knew it, I was basking in the satisfaction of my work while drenched in sweat.

I should open a school for housecleaning skills.

Oh, I forgot to clean Bike-chan.

I made my way towards the door, with my clothes stick to my skin, when the doorbell rang.

"Ah, it must be Komachi..." I mutter.

However, when I opened the door, I was met with three pairs of eyes.

"Oh."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hi Haa-chan~!" Keika squealed and grabbed hold of his Hikigaya's leg.

"Keika! Don't be rude!" I have to remind her not to invade someone's personal space...

"I'm home Onii-chan! Look who I brought with me!"

"I'm very sorry that my Imotou bothered you, Kawasaki..." Hikigaya said with an apologetic tone.

"It's nothing, Keika wanted to see you anyway..." I wave my hands in front of me.

He straightened up and I noticed that he was drenched in sweat, ALOT too.

"Onii-chan what happened? You're sweating alot and there's a few cobwebs on your hair..." komachi said.

Keika ran inside the house before I could catch her.

"I've been cleaning, and I have to clean my bike. Komachi, bring me Kamakura so Kawasaki won't get caught up with her allergies. Don't make a mess when you go inside." He said and walked towards their garage.

"Thanks." I call out to him.

Around a week or two ago, I met him at school, just as I was about to submit the mandatory student medical information. The student council president sent him on an errand to organize the student information system, that also included the student medical information files.

He found out about my allergies and ever since then, when we came over, he would hide their cat somewhere so my allergies won't act up.

"Pardon the intrusion..." I say and remove my shoes to change into indoor slippers that Komachi provided for us.

Komachi went to the kitchen to probably get some bowls for the ice cream that she bought. I brought some snacks too.

Keika was already lying on the couch humming the tune of that anime that she really likes.

What was the name again? Pretty Cure...?

I heard a rush of footsteps and followed by the sound of a door closing.

"Kawasaki-nee! It's ok for you to come here now!" Komachi called from somewhere inside the house.

Coming here always gets me embarrassed...

Our midterm exams start tomorrow, and I haven't even started studying yet. Taking care of my siblings and tidying up the house, as well as my part-time job, my life is really busy right now.

I barely had time to study because I'm too exhausted to do so when I arrive home...

To make things worse, I sometimes arrive late at class.

"Kawasaki-nee, which flavour do you want? Chocolate, vanilla or mocha?" Komachi asked me when I stepped into their kitchen.

"I'll have the chocolate one, thank you. Keika and I will share."

After getting the bowls, we went to the living room where Keika was already patiently waiting for us.

Komachi turned on their T.V. and began browsing through the channels. I just watched with them, trying to understand what was going on.

Several minutes later, the door opened and out came Hikigaya, looking filthy with dark spots on his arm and shirt.

"I spilled the oil when I was lubricating the bike's gears..." he said flatly when I gave him a look.

"Komachi, get me a change of clothes after I finish taking a shower."

"Onii-chan, do you want to take a bath together? I can help you clean yourself~." Kyaah! What the heck was that?! That's so embarrassing to think about, and how can she say that so casually?!

Were they always this close?!

"...Idiot." Hikigaya sighed and closed the door to the bathroom while Komachi was laughing out loud.

Like a dutiful wife, Komachi diligently went upstairs to see to her brother's request. Keika was immersed in the T.V. show, and didn't even notice that she left.

I pulled out my phone and went through my school notes that I managed to save. I'm screwed for tomorrow…

At least the ice-cream is good and Keika looks like she's enjoying herself.

Komachi returned shortly, followed by a now clean Hikigaya with his hair still wet from the bath.

"What are you guys watching?" he asked from behind me.

"Pretty Cure!" Keika cheerfully said.

"Hoh…" sat down and he made himself comfortable next to me.

I saw that the ice-cream on his bowl was chocolate and vanilla, so I asked him which he prefers the most.

"Between chocola and vanilla, huh...? I love them both, I can't choose between them." he said with passion.

"I thought you liked mocha ice-cream?" I recall talking with Komachi about ice cream and asking what her brother's favourite flavour was.

"I do, but Komachi didn't bring any…" he replied.

I lifted a small spoonful of ice-cream positioned it towards Keika's mouth.

"Keika, ah~."

"Ah~." she cutely opened her mouth to the sweet dessert.

That's so cute…

"What's that?" Hikigaya asked beside me while looking at my phone.

"Oh this? It's my notes from school, I haven't had time to study for our midterms yet…"

"Do you need some help? I already finished studying yesterday." He offered.

Of course…

How could I forget?

The top student in our school was right next to me and he's offering his assistance.

"That would be great thanks." I say with gratitude, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips. He nodded and gave me an amused look.

"Let's go up to my room then." he said and motioned me to follow him.

"Komachi, me and Kawasaki are going to study for a bit so don't make too much ruckus, ok?"

"Hai~! Have fun Onii-chan, Kawasaki-nee!"

I meekly followed closely behind him, this is the first time that I'm entering into a room of someone not related to me. And a guy's room, at that…

He opened the door to his room to reveal a clean and well-kept room with a neat bed and an organized desktop computer. His bookshelves were stacked neatly and I could see a few Gundam toys and manga on some of them. On his bed was a notebook and a PSVita, and on the chair in-front of his desktop was his school bag.

I saw some anime DVD's on his shelf, most of them looked pretty old, as well as some familiar game titles like Pokemon, Tekken, Final Fantasy and Resident Evil.

I could also see picture frames on the wall on some on his desk, most of it contained photographs of him and his family.

The blinds were open, and we could occasionally feel a breeze from outside.

"Your room is pretty nice." I comment.

"Thanks, I did a bit of house-cleaning, that's why I was filthy earlier." he said.

Ah, that explains it…

From how close we were, I could smell the shampoo and body wash that he used when he took a bath earlier, and it smelled nice.

Wait, I'm sounding like some sort of perv…

"Well then," he sat down on his bed and motioned at me to sit on the chair, "what subject did you need help with?"

"A-All of them…" I gave him an embarrassed smile while twirling on my hair.

I was expecting him to tease me, or at least give me a look of disbelief, but all he did was give me an understanding nod of acknowledgement.

"Been busy lately?" He asked.

" _Very_ busy…" I replied and couldn't help release a sigh.

Now that I think about it, this might be the only time where I can study in peace.

"Ok, so what subject do you want to tackle first?" He got up and picked up his bag from beside the bed.

"Oh, umm…how about algebra?" Just thinking about math makes my head hurt…

He did a thinking pose, then said, "All right, I accept the challenge."

I sat on the chair in front of his desktop while he just stood behind me, but not before he closed the windows and turned on the air conditioner.

When he opened his notes, I expected stacks upon stacks of papers filled to the brim with text. To my surprise, he only showed me a two index cards with scribbles on them and a notebook.

I got a closer look, and those scribbles were actually formulas that were frequently used in our algebra classes.

"This is everything that you need to know for our algebra exam." He said in a small voice.

I gave him a skeptical look from the stuff in front of me.

"I only write the most important things in our lessons, writing down everything is a waste of time."

That sounded smart, but at the same time, something that a lazy person would say.

"Go over the exercises in this notebook and use the index cards as a guide, just call me if you need anything." He gave me the notebook and then plopped himself on the bed and started playing on his gaming console.

So, he's the _let-them-learn-by-themselves_ type, huh…I know a few teachers who have that kind of teaching style.

I sighed at the mathematical equations in front of me and began answering them the best I can.

Things went on smoothly because I had the formulas, and I took my time solving them. After half an hour, I finished everything.

"Hikigaya, I'm done."

"Let me see." I handed him my answer sheet, I felt a little proud while doing it.

His eyes scanned through the thin paper, his facial expression betrayed nothing, so it was basically impossible to know what his reactions are.

"Do it again." He said in a flat tone.

"What?"

He sighed and put the paper down on the desk, "Here, here,here aaaand here, take a look at them again. Check your writing, your 1 became a 7 so you got the sum wrong, your solution in this one is right, but the final answer is wrong, check it again, this one here, you need to use three formulas to complete it. Also, don't forget to write the square at the top-right of the number, and finally, don't rely on the formula sheet too much, just remember them and you'll be fine." He said after a moment of explaining.

I have no right to complain since he's right…

"Yes…" I blinked back my tears.

"Oh, and try to finish everything in less than thirty minutes."

This time, I _definitely_ felt a tear run down my cheek.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Thank you for your hard work." He handed me a chocolate bar, one of the snacks that Komachi bought.

"Thanks…" I peeled of the wrapper and took a bite from it. Ah, this tastes good…

After an excruciating time at solving the problems, I was able to get everything right this time. But it took longer than expected because I followed his advice and tried not to depend on the formula sheet.

It was impossible for me to finish before thirty-minutes, but he remained quiet when the time came and was just playing on his game.

I don't know if he was being considerate _or_ he forgot about it.

"Ugh, we're finally done." I say as I stretch on the floor like a cat.

"Yup, good job. Now what's the next subject that you need help with?" He asked as he took a bite from his salmon onigiri.

I had to think for a moment, the most logical choice would be the subjects that I suck at, so that means…

"Biology?" I ask.

"Great, I have some notes that we can use." He said and began rummaging through his bag and brought out a few papers and an unfamiliar-looking book.

 _The Basics of Biology_

"Hey, this isn't the book that we use at school." I say.

"This is one of my reference books, I have a few academic books and my Dad has a ton of them." he said while fixing on of the papers but one of them fell.

I picked it up, and it had the words _Biology Report,_ and at the bottom was Hikigaya's name, but there was another name below his'.

 _Yukinoshita Yukino_

Curiously, her name had a line that ran at its middle, as if she was removed or something.

"What's this?" I ask out of curiosity.

"Oh, that was a report that we had to do in pairs. You can use this as a guide for the topics that you need to study." He replied in a bored tone and handed me three pages of his report.

I might be wrong, but did something happen between them? He changed the subject _too_ quickly…

I went over the papers, and it was well-made, each sub-topic was segmented into different parts according to the main topic that it belonged to, making it easy to read and understand.

"You can bring this if you want." He pointed to the report that I was holding and to his reference books.

Of course, with a prize like this in front of me, there is only one logical choice.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, do you still need help with your other subjects?" He asked.

Well, I think I can handle the other subjects by myself, hopefully, plus, I wouldn't want to bother him too much.

"I think I can do the rest by myself...I think" I say the last part quietly, but I have a feeling that he heard me regardless. He didn't inquire further.

"I'll go downstairs for a bit, be right back." With that he closed the door behind him and I heard the sounds of his retreating footsteps.

Well, what do I do now?

I stand up and walk towards the bed, it looks so comfy…

I hesitate touching it, before ultimately feeling the soft fabric against my skin. It's so smooth, I wonder what fabric softeners and detergents they use?

Before I realized what I was doing, I slowly reached out and grabbed the pillow at the head of the bed and put my face against it.

 _Sniff sniff sniiiiiiiiiiiiiifffffffffffffffffffff_

It smells like him…

I quickly put down the pillow after I realized what I just did, I acted like some sort of closet perv. If he saw me smelling his pillow, what would he think of me?

Wait, why should I care about how he thinks of me anyway?

I take another look at the bed, and a thought that makes my face red as a tomato comes to me.

I-I wonder...

Hikigaya is a guy...

And guys are i-interested in _that_ kind of stuff...

I wonder if his stuff, well assuming that he has any, is right under this bed that I'm sitting on...?

Just imagining the possibility is making my head spin.

Shaking my head to get a grip of myself, decided to take a look at some photographs that he had near his bed.

There was a picture of himself when he was around 3 years-old, he looked so cute back then and his cheeks were so chubby. In the next photo, he was maybe 8 years old with a smile on his face while he held the hand of his little sister while she was crying. I had to giggle to myself at the sight.

The next pictures were mostly in his elementary and middle-school days, and they were class pictures. Some showed the entire class doing outdoor activities and playing together in events, but I failed to spot him. But in the class pictures, I noticed that his cheery and innocent smile was gone, replaced by a forced one with a sign of discomfort. Those kinds of pictures were few and far in between, most of his facial expressions were either that or sad passive look on his face.

Did he have a rough childhood? He doesn't talk about himself much, nor his past.

Maybe I should ask him sometime…

No.

It's none of my business, and I'm not sure how he would react to me butting my nose in places where it doesn't belong. I might be opening old wounds and he might get hurt, or even get angry with me.

And I don't want to destroy the relationship that we've built over the past few months. Even though we don't see each other at school much, I do trust him. Heck, even Keika is already attached to him and his sister.

I sighed and lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. In the end, I don't know much about Hikigaya, aside from the things he tells me when I ask him. He's the mysterious type that rarely talks, that much is true, but it really pisses me off when some of my classmates are badmouthing him.

Being a not-so-sociable person like himself, I didn't know how to confront them…

So, I just resulted to giving them sharp looks of annoyance that would get them quiet from time to time, but thanks to that, I already heard whispers that said that I'm a delinquent too.

Not that I give them attention, they can run their mouths with shit for all I care.

Seriously, people these days are way too judgmental.

"That look that you have right now would make steel beams melt."

"AAAHHH!" I screamed and fell from the bed.

"Oi, are you alright?" His monotone voice that lacked any hint of concern asked me out of concern.

Hmm, how ironic.

"Damn you scared me." I mutter as I composed myself and sat on the floor.

"Sorry, I've been told that I walk too quietly for my own good, it's a habit of mine." he apologized.

"And who told you that?" I asked.

He put a hand under his chin and did a thinking pose, "Hmm, I believe it was Yukinoshita-san…" he muttered.

"You're friends with her?"

"No." He said in a bored tone.

I can't tell if he's telling the truth or hiding something...

"Then what can you tell me about this?" I pointed to the Biology report that had her name on it.

If someone heard us, I bet that I sound like a jealous girlfriend.

"Ah," he scratched his head a bit, "that had to be done by pair, as instructed by sensei you see. After a small chat, we both agreed to present our individual findings the next day. After we read each other's results, we both concluded that our respective creations were better than the other.

I refused to go with her output, since it simply had too much information, and she likewise did at mine and refused my suggestion at a compromise, she even called me a "cowardly gutless lowlife".

So, at that point, I separated with her because going with her plan exerts too much unnecessary effort." He shrugged his shoulders at the last part.

My mouth was agape, not by amazement or awe, but how stupid and petty everything sounded.

Seriously, do all smart people have arguments because of little things such as that?

Also, she called him what?

"She called you _what_?"

"I believe it was " _A cowardly gutless lowlife"_."

"Well then she must have some icy vocabulary." I say with furrowed brows.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Meh, I'm used to them. She always throws them at me when we're together. It's like a game that only the two of us play."

Oh, so that's it…

I shifted my eyes away from him in an embarrassed manner, what I'm about to ask might be a little too personal to him.

"So...are you her boyfriend?" I asked him and tried to avoid eye contact.

His face contorted into something of a combination between a scowl, an offended look and a disgusted one.

I think I felt something like I was looking into the infinite void of abyss when I looked at his eyes.

I expected a different expression from him...

"Ugh, _no_. Where did that come from?"

That was all he said and his facial expression returned to normal.

And by normal, I mean his usual blank and passive one. I wanted to ask more, but I'm afraid that I might annoy him too much.

"Hmm?" He asked and tilted his head to the side, which made his ahoge sway a bit.

"Ah, nothing." I say

"Well, there's your answer." after stretching a bit, he glanced at his wristwatch, "I have to go now, my shift will start soon."

"Oh, ok, I'll just study the notes you gave me."

"Hmm..."

W-What's he waiting for? He's been staring at me for a while now with that usual blank look. His intense stare was, well, _intense_. I even had to fidget a little.

"W-What?" I ask him.

"I have to change my clothes." He gave me a deadpan stare and attempted to strip off his shirt.

Right...

I had to give myself a massive mental facepalm at my indecisiveness.

"Oh! R-Right! Hahaha of course!" I jump to my feet, eager to escape the awkwardness.

He didn't even give a visible external reaction to how uncomfortable I felt.

Though I do see something like disappointment in his eyes, like how a tutor found out that the student he tried so much to teach still failed.

After I went downstairs, he shortly followed me wearing casual attire and went on his way.

Though Keika pleaded for him to stay, he explained to her why he had to go.

Finally, she let go of him and gave him a hug as he walked out of the door, with tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes, that is...

Well, guess I'll hang out here for a while...

 ** _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy with our school's intramurals and competitions. We lost anyway, but at least we had fun. Though I think a lost a pound or two because of the stress...

To be honest, this was the most difficult chapter for me to finish, I dunno why. I had a hard time writing things from Saki's perspective, I think her's was the hardest to write.

I hope I did her some justice in this chapter.

Saki is one of the girls that I wanted to end up with 8man in canon, seeing that they have many of similarities.

Remember when 8man said "Love ya, Kawasaki!" in the light novel? Man her reaction was priceless!

Ok so I was browsing through the wiki the other day, and it said that, " _Hachiman is skilled at swimming, according to the drama CD, he swam two kilometers in middle school because he had nothing else to do when his class had pool lessons._ "

I read all the books but I don't remember this. I was going to add this as a little thing that he can brag about but I was unsure whether it was legit or not.

As always, feel free to drop a review and let me know your thoughts, as well as a recommendation if you have an awesome idea.

Soooooo, yeah. That's all I wanted to say for now.

Bye bye!


	14. Ridiculous Coincidences

"Thank you for your hard work, Hikigaya-kun!"

 _*pat* *pat*_

I would normally avoid physical contact with another person, well, except if it's Komachi, she's the one who always comes to _me_.

When an overly-friendly classmate attempts to pat my shoulder as a good gesture, I would inch away at the last second.

If one of those _nice girls_ invade my personal space, I would take a step back to maintain my defensive perimeters.

But, receiving a pat on the head from my super bubbly Senpai after an exhausting afternoon of doing student council duties is an exemption.

 _*pat* *pat*_

I would usually inwardly demand compensation for any work that I do for someone, but a pat on the head from her is the greatest reward.

 _*pat* *pat*_

"Hmm." That was the only reply that I could muster due to my exhaustion.

If I had one last request before dying from my current state, it would be to rest my head on Shiromeguri-senpai's thighs as she rubbed my head to ease my passing.

"Let's go home Hikigaya-kun~!" she then began poking my cheek, as if checking if I was still alive.

"Hai hai…" I get up, albeit slowly, while Senpai was patiently observing me with a smile.

That's what I call the _Kind and Sweet Onee-san_ look.

Since the others already left, or were on errands, we were the only ones remaining.

After locking the door, we started walking together towards the exit of the school, we passed by many students that greeted us.

And by _us,_ I mean only Shiromeguri-senpai, well I _did_ receive a nod or two of acknowledgement but that's basically it, though I have no idea who those people were.

"Senpai, did you finish everything that the teachers told you to do?" I asked.

"Yup!"

"What about the clubs and their request of budget?"

"Hmm!"

"The weekly posting of important information on the bulletin boards?"

"Yes!"

"What about the list of all school officials and staff and their titles? We need it as a guide when we're making letters addressed to them."

"Secretary-chan already made them."

"The ink for our printer is nearly empty."

"The new cartridges of ink are in the bottom drawer of my table."

"Ok, sorry for bothering you."

"No problem!"

We were about to pass by a classroom when a girl with long silvery-blue hair in a ponytail exited from the room and locked eyes with me.

"Oh, Hikigaya…"

"Good afternoon Kawasaki." I lazily waved my hand at her and she followed suit.

She gave Shiromeguri-senpai, who was behind me fumbling with her bag, a quick look and asked me, "Are you going home already?"

"Yes, you?" I asked in turn.

"I still have my part-time job later, but I can at least go with you up to the school gate." She offered.

Hey, it's as if she was implying that I wanted her to go with me.

Of course, I don't mind the company, but…

"Hikigaya-kun!" Shiromeguri-senpai's voice riddled with urgency startled me. I turn around and she looked like she saw a ghost.

"What?"

"I forgot that the deadline for the letter was tonight! I have to go back and ask Sensei for the details!"

I knew it…

Good grief, what a clumsy girl…

"Ok, I'll be going on ahead then. If you need any assistance, contact vice-president-san and secretary-san."

"Gotcha! See you tomorrow!" she exclaimed.

 _*pat* *pat*_

And then she ran off to the direction that we came from.

"Hey, no running in the hallways." My protest landed on deaf ears as she probably didn't hear me and continued to run.

Did she _really_ need to pat my head before going though…?

I turn back to Kawasaki, who had observed our exchange with a curious look.

Great, I bet now she thinks that we're a bunch of weirdos.

I feel the remnants of my reputation plummet even further down the toilet.

"Well, should we get going?" I ask her.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go." She nodded at me and we proceeded to walk through the school's halls.

I am a man of few words, that much is true. I despise small talk, deeming it useless and a waste of breath, but there's something _really important_ that I want to ask her.

"So, how was your exams?" I ask her.

"Hmm…" she put a hand under her chin and started pondering on my words.

"I think I did good, thanks for the help." She gave me a small grateful smile that looked unnatural on her cool and slightly serious demeanor.

I sigh in relief, if I found out that my student failed in the exam, I will literally jump from the top floor of my Father's office building.

"That's a relief."

I felt something hit my shoulder.

"You sound like you're saying that I'm an idiot." She said in a menacing manner that made me lose my composure for a moment.

"Ah, did I sound like that? My apologies, I was merely displaying the actions of a teacher concerned for his student. Isn't it normal for one such as myself to at least show concern to my fellows?" I reply.

Damnit, Yukinoshita's speaking habits are rubbing off on me.

"I guess…" she said after a moment, her menacing aura disappearing as fast as it appeared.

If incorporating the speaking habits of aristocrats can get me out of a tough situation like this, then I should already start practicing.

She then initiated some small talk, to my surprise, which was out-of-character for her personality. She talked about her work at the supermarket, things that happened at class today and of course, about Keika.

As usual, I just listened and occasionally inserted my inputs here and there.

If I was recruited by the Dark Brotherhood, I would no doubt be the _Listener._

That was an ingenious joke, and I had to snicker to myself.

"What's so funny?" The girl beside me asked and gave me a questioning look.

"Ah, nothing." I say. At my words, she shrugged her shoulders.

I escorted her to the school gates and we separated there, after I bade her farewell, I went back to the place where students park their bikes.

I was really curious about the tennis court of the school, so I decided to take a detour and head there before going home. Tennis is one of the few sports that I'm good at, and I haven't had the chance to use the racquet that I bought nearly four months ago.

Back in middle-school, none of my classmates wanted to pair up with me. So, I usually played with Sensei during that time. He was really strict, and corrected every mistake that I did when we had practice matches. But he was a good Sensei, one of my favorites in school, if not my most favorite.

I was pretty sad when he was too busy to have a match with me in P.E., so when those times arrived, I opted to play against the wall.

The wall was a good partner. He didn't tease me nor complain nor call me Hikigerma-kun. He just _played_.

I am honestly itching for a game right now.

Since Komachi is sucks too much at it, and my parents are always busy, I have no one to play with.

Well, there's always the wall outside...

I hope my skills haven't gone rusty…

I caught sight of a group of male students wearing sports attire, from the ball that one of them was holding, I believe they were football players.

In the middle of their group was the alpha male, surrounded by beta cucks and nameless insignificant side-characters that were MUDA in the overall progression of the plot.

 _*Oi Hikigaya, that was a bit too harsh…*_

The said Alpha Male, was good 'ol...

Uh...what was his name again?

 _Hayasomething-san?_

 _Hayasomething-san The Combat Butler?_

Upon seeing me, he said something to his man-slaves and jogged over to me.

Oi, is this guy for real?

"What's up, Hikigaya?" He called out to me as he got nearer.

What a very riajuu-like way of greeting someone...

"Hmm, did you need something?" I reply in my usual tone.

"Not really, me and my classmates were just on our way to football practice." He stopped and gave me a quick look from top to bottom.

"Say, you have a really nice build, do you play sports?"

Haah? What nonsense is this guy talking about?

 _"Nice build"_ my ass.

" _Sorry, but if you really wanted me to come with you with by using flattering words, then I'm afraid you have to try harder. The effort you showed is really non-existent to the point where its insulting me. Please try harder next time, and maybe I can at least acknowledge your minute existence. Until then, please get away from me and don't breathe in my direction. If I catch you doing otherwise, I will have you executed and your body burned at the stake for everyone to see. Ta ta~"!_

If I was an Ojou-sama, like a _certain_ someone that I know, I would have said that to his face.

 _ ***Hikigaya, you absolutely destroyed him in your head! That rejection was Hime-sama level! ***_

"Not really." I say back.

"Oh really? Want to come to our try-outs this weekend?" He offered and gave me a bright smile.

Tch, this guy is persistent!

"I'm busy during weekends."

"Ah, I see." He scratched his head.

"Hayama, we're going on ahead!" I heard one of the nobody side-characters call out.

"Wait for me!" He laughed. "Well, I'll see you around Hikigaya." He said and raised his hand suspiciously and creeped towards my shoulder.

Don't touch me you brute!

Before he could pat my shoulder, I moved to the side to avoid it.

"Hmm." I just gave him a quick nod and began walking before I could see his facial reaction.

Ew what a creep, he nearly touched me there. I should report him for sexual harassment. I didn't look back, and their voices soon disappeared as I went further away from them.

I spent the rest of my walk in peace and quiet, and thankfully, I wasn't interrupted by any intruders.

I exited the building which I had to enter in order to access the tennis court. The total area was adequate, though I realized that it can only accommodate at least one play at a time.

How disappointing, I expected better of you, Sobu High! As a proud citizen of Chiba, I declare this as an embarrassment! I should tell the principal about this, maybe drop a hint or two here and there...

Suddenly, I heard the sound of something hitting against something. I stopped to listen what I was hearing.

After several seconds, I concluded that it was the sound of a tennis racquet hitting a tennis ball.

With silent footsteps, I traced the source of the sound to the nearby wall of the building. I took a quick look and saw a blonde girl playing against the wall, each sound made by the contact between her racquet and the ball echoing in this secluded area.

Hmm...Miura-san...What's she doing here?

 _ ***Obviously playing Tennis.***_

Thank you Captain Obvious.

I took another look and saw that she's not even wearing the proper attire. Each time her body moved to intercept the ball, her skirt would slightly sway up, but not enough to show her undergarments.

What a tease!

I turned away from the sight, eager to protect my innocence from such a provocative image.

With beads of sweat running down her forehead, she stopped to catch her breath. She pulled out her phone from out of nowhere and began fiddling with it with her free hand.

Woah! What the heck was that?! Where did the phone come from?! Does she have her own personal pocket dimension?!

As I was trying to come up with a logical answer to what I just witnessed, her head turned to my direction and our eyes met.

What the heck is with these ridiculous coincidences recently?

3…

2…

1…

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Ouch, that hurt my ears...

I know that I look scary, I once heard a security guard ask his partner if I'm part of the yakuza, but there's no need to pour sulfuric acid on my maggot-infested wounds...

After calming herself down, she gave me a glare that would make other boys flee in terror.

"HIKIO! YOU SCARED ME!" She stomped over to me and was about to punch my arm. I swear her green eyes were steaming.

Whether she's just joking or she's really going to do it, I'm not gonna take any chances!

I leaned my body just before she could hit me.

 _*Whoosh*_

I felt the shock-wave from her fist.

She gritted her teeth and tried to reach for me again, but I was faster.

"Oi, whats the big idea...and who is this "Hikio" you speak of?" I say with sarcasm when we finally got some distance between us.

"Grrrr...hmph!" She crossed her arms and turned her head away from me.

"Geez why are you so worked up?" I scratched my head in confusion.

"Why are you even here anyway?" I added.

"That's none of your business." She glared at me once more.

Hoh...giving me the cold shoulder, eh?

Two can play at that game!

"Indeed, it's not. Goodbye then." After giving her a stiff bow, I started walking away.

"H-Hey! Wait for me!" While still walking, I watched with amusement as she hastily picks up her bag, while throwing me and annoyed look, along with a second tennis racquet that I didn't see.

She hit my arm when she finally caught up with me, while I had numerous chances to dodge it, the satisfied grin on her face when she claimed victory was enough for me to stand down in the end.

So even her fiery personality has a cute side, huh...

"As I mentioned earlier, what are you doing here?" I ask without turning to her.

"Well, I was supposed to play with my gym partner, but she said that she had an appointment, at the last second..." I could hear a hint of annoyance on her tone.

"Ah..."

She walked ahead of me and started going to the tennis court. I cocked my head in confusion but said nothing.

After going to the bench, she turned to me and threw the second raquet. Of course, I was able to catch it.

"Oi oi, what gives?"

"Huh? I thought you wanted to have a match with me?" She gave me a confused look.

"I don't remember you even saying that you wanted a match..." Does she think I'm a psychic or something? I can't read the minds of complicated beings such as females y'knowww...

"Come on~!" Her face morphed into a _ and balled her fists.

"Well, ok. But I won't go easy on you." I say as I put down my bag and gave her an asshole-like grin.

Something must have snapped inside her head because she sent me a similar expression with her competitive aura emitting from behind her.

NANI?!

Is that her STAND?!

"Hoh, then I'm looking forward to it..." she cackled menacingly.

Hey now, I was just fooling around on my part. Did she actually think that I was being serious...?

I have a feeling that I just dug my own grave...

After several minutes of warming up, I deduced that I was ready and gave her the signal. Due to her insistence, I was the first one to serve the ball.

The first few minutes were dull. Her moves were nothing special, just like mine. Both of us were having difficulty playing because we weren't wearing the proper attire. More so with her because of her skirt.

Shoes-chan, please forgive and bear with me...

Our scores were 8-11, mine was the former when we hit 15-minutes. I had a feeling that she was going easy on me, testing the waters and observing me. I was doing the same to her, though I had to keep looking at her eyes or on the ball or else I might see something at her lower part that might cause me to faint while we're still playing.

I'm talking about her skirt by the way, and its still teasing me!

"Hikio, you're pretty good." She commented when she went back to the other side of the court for us to resume playing after having a quick break

"You too."

In many shonen anime, the main character, and in some cases, the villain too, would only reveal their ultimate and devastating move when they are nearing the climax of their battle. Very cliché and repetitive, if I might add.

I believe otherwise.

The battle must be won with a single decisive strike to prevent a long and costly war of attrition. A single devastating thrust to the heart of the beast. Therefore, at the start of the battle, you must give it your all and nothing less.

Just like in some of my fighting video games, it's a race to see who deals the most damage in those crucial first few seconds at the start of the battle. It was in those few seconds where one can foresee who will be the victor.

While this is certainly real life and not a war, I believe I can improvise…

So, with that in mind, I took a deep breathe and readied myself to serve the ball once more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He's fast!

At the start of our second game, his strikes were faster and stronger, while his legs moved so quickly that I was afraid he might trip.

16-11...

He already caught up with me...

His stance is really weird. His legs look so relaxed, and would only move with explosive speed when it was needed. His eyes are really intense too, and his face was calm as a still water.

I was shocked at how much he changed, that it took me a while to get my head around it.

Me, a tennis player who played in prefecture-level matches...

His strike just now was fast, I was just in time to return it. I miscalculated, the shot was too weak and too high.

A perfect time to land a powerful smash.

He leapt into the air, his racquet making contact with the ball and I began rushing to the other side of the court.

It was at that moment that I locked eyes with him.

The ball came flying towards me and I managed to return it.

I have to win! Or at least close the gap between us as much as possible!

For the next few moments, we were equally matched. I was able to get a score with a precise and quick shot.

Both of us were breathing heavily, and I could begin to feel my legs slightly shake from the fatigue.

18-12...

Damnit...

"Let's stop here." His hoarse voice called out to me. From his voice alone, he sounds even more exhausted than me, yet his face was neutral as ever.

"Yeah, that's a good idea..." I replied in-between my heavy breaths as my legs collapsed on the ground. Holy shit, when was the last time I had a match with this intensity?

Ah, I think I sprained my foot...

"Huff hufff huff..." I heard his ragged breaths as I watch him approach me.

"You're pretty good, Miura-san." He said as he offered his hand.

I gave him a cheeky grin, "You too, do you mind helping me up? I think I sprained my foot." I wiggled my right foot to show him.

He reached out his hand and pulled me up.

Unfortunately, he applied too much force, so I was pushed into his chest. The contact was brief, but I felt the rapid pounding of his heart through the fabric of his uniform. From the intensity of it, it'll take a while for him to calm down from the adrenaline rush…

"Oh, sorry about that." He quickly stepped back to give me some space, but still close enough to lend me his arm.

"There you are again, apologizing too quickly. People will think that you're a wimp." With his help, I limp towards the bench where we put our bags earlier.

"I'd rather be called a wimp than a person without manners and courtesy." He said boredly when I finally got to sit down. He sat down a little further from me, to my confusion, so I scooted closer to him.

"What the heck was that? That sounded so cool! Haha!" I laughed at him and playfully poke his cheek.

He attempted to moved his head to avoid my finger, but he just sighed and gave up.

 _*poke poke*_

"T-That's ridiculous, and stop poking my cheek, you might catch a disease." He said in an uptight manner, but I know he was just supressing a blush by looking away.

"How did you get so good at tennis anyway?" I ask him. He was really good, I had to admit. It's been a while since I played against someone like him and it was really refreshing.

"I'm not good at tennis." He muttered.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Ok ok Mr. Humbleson, just answer the question."

"I just played it in middle-school like any other student." He said and waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

I sighed and looked up to the sky, I can already see some orange streaks creeping slowly in those dominated by white and blue.

Time flies by so fast, it's already been a few months since classes started.

I made lots of friends, I even have my own little group of friends that I hang out with.

"Hikio, who do you hang out with anyway?" I asked him as I stared up the sky.

A moment of silence.

"No one, really..." He replied.

I turn to him with a shocked expression. He must be joking, right?

"Huh? What do you mean?" I look at him seriously this time, trying to see if he's lying. As usual, his eyes betrayed nothing.

"I go to school alone and go home alone, if that's what you mean." He replied.

"No! I mean who do you hang out with at school!"

"Oh, well, same answer." He said.

"Tell me more."

He looked at me from the corner of his eye with an unreadable expression, and after a moment of thinking, finally came up with an answer.

"There's nothing much to say, except from the occasional conversation with one of my classmates, and official discussions with the rest of the student council members, I'm basically alone. I cook my own lunch and eat it alone in a quiet place. During mandatory group activities, I ask the teachers if I can be by myself, which they allow. But if it's unavoidable that I should be grouped with others, I stay quiet and just help when they ask me. It's not that they unfriendly to me, I think they are just...indifferent towards me. Not that I'm chasing after them or anything, I'm perfectly fine by myself." He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and shrugged.

That was pretty sad. I thought that he had a clique, or even a friend that he always sticks with.

"Are you being bullied?" I ask him, and I couldn't help frowning and clenching my fists at the thought.

"Who would have the gall to _"bully"_ the head of the disciplinary committee?" He lightly chuckled.

"But, I'm used to it...being alone, I mean." he added with a melancholic tone and looked up to the sky.

I stayed quiet for a while, I didn't know what to say...

He sighed, a deep and heavy one reverberated through his body, as if trying to forcefully remove a memory that he would rather forget. I saw him give himself a strained smile.

"I apologize if I made the atmosphere depressing." He said in an apologetic tone and lightly bowed his head to me.

"Hikio, you did no such thing..." I shouldn't have asked him such a personal question…

"You can hang out with me after school or during break times if you want." I offered.

I think I can introduce him to my friends.

Truth be told, I already feel at ease with him and I feel like he'll be a great friend. Unlike other guys he has no ulterior motives. I already have some guys that ogle at me when I walk in the hallways, which, already in itself, is super creepy and uncomfortable.

He never looked at me like those creeps, which I'm really glad.

"I'm fine thank you. You shouldn't waste your time acompanying me after all." He politely declined my offer and said it in such a self-depreciating manner too. I had to frown at that.

"You should stop talking like that."

"Like what?"

"Like, unecessary self-depreciating habits." I furrowed my brows at him.

"Oh, its one of my specialties. Self-depreciating jokes, annoying sarcasm and a nihilistic sense of humour are my strong character attributes." He said with pride as he gave me a thumbs up.

"Pfff...hahahaha." I giggle at his reply, he was right about his twisted sense of humour.

I saw him look at his watch to check the time. Wow, is that a Rolex?

"Nice watch Hikio." That's definitely a Rolex. Damn that thing is probably worth a few years of tuition in your average college. I guess the rumour that he comes from an affluent family has some truth to it after all...

"Oh, thank you. I got this as a present for..." He stopped and I turned to him to see whats wrong.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"Tell me please~."

"No."

"Pretty please~~?" I batted my eyelashes at him. Emotionally constipated or not, he's still a guy and I'm sure my lady charms will take effect on him.

"It's too embarassing and you might think that its ridiculous..." He turned away from me with a conflicted look and a slight blush.

Ha! Looks like it worked!

"Come on~~~..."

"Ugh, fine, I got this as a gift from my parents for topping the school's entrance exams."

"Yeah yeah, you're a smartass, I get it." I grummbled at him while pouting.

"Good grief..." He muttered as he massaged his brows while having a small smile.

We went quiet after that, and I don't know how much time passed until I realized that it was getting dark.

"Hey Hikio, we should go home."

...

...

...

No response.

I turn to him and see that he laid his body on the bench, his back going up and down everytime he breathed.

"Hikio."

I reach out and pat his shoulder, hoping to wake him up, still no reaction. I get up and kneel at the floor near his head so I can shake his shoulder.

But instead of seeing his eyes closed, I saw that it formed into an X.

(x_x)

...

"..."

OH MY GOD DID HE FAINT?! HE MUST HAVE OVEREXERTED HIMSELF TOO MUCH!

"HIKIO WAKE UP! DON'T FOLLOW THE LIGHT! COME TOWARDS MY VOICE!" I grab him by the shoulders and begin shaking him.

"Granpa, I see you..." He muttered in a dazed voice.

"NO DON'T FOLLOW HIM! HIKIO! FOLLOW MY VOICE! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"Ugh...tomatoes..." He muttered again while his face contorted into a frown.

If I wasn't fearing for his life, I would have laughed so hard on the spot.

 _ **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

 _Hello Guys and Girls!_

 _Ivanov117 here!_

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter, this one was fun to write hehe._

 _Do you know what day tomorrow is?_

 _That's right, it's the 12_ _th_ _of September._

 _And do you know why I mentioned it?_

 _It's because the first chapter of this FanFic was submitted a year ago!_

 _This FanFic has officially reached one-year old!_

 _I can't believe it's already been a year, it feels like it was just yesterday when I had the idea for writing this FanFic lol._

 _Thank you so much to those of you who were with me since the beginning!_

 _A little story time…_

 _I started having my own idea for a FanFic after I read all the LN. My mind was full of ideas, "What if Hachiman did this? What if he did that?", those kinds of thought. Ultimately, the majority of my ideas were already past canon, that's why this ended up becoming an AU._

 _The week that I first started writing this last year, a strong earthquake hit my State. Our geothermal power-plants that were deep in the mountains were damaged, along with several collapsed buildings near the epicenter._

 _When the earthquake hit, I was in the library sleeping. I ignored the shaking of my table, but then I realized that no one was sitting there besides me. Upon realization of the earthquake, I ran downstairs, along with many other students and teachers. There was no damage to the school infrastructure, so classes immediately resumed._

 _When we went to our other house, shards of our broken vases and other things were scattered on the floor, but thankfully, that was all._

 _Our whole State had no electricity for nearly a month._

 _You may ask, "Well, how were you able to continue writing the drafts?"_

 _The answer, my dear readers, lies with the sun._

 _We have large solar panels on our roof, but it can only support small devices like phones, flashlights, radios, etc. So, I continued writing on my Ipad._

 _That is why, since last year, every morning when I wake up and go outside, I raise my hands and praise the Sun._

 _Jk lol._

 _So, yeah. That was basically the ORIGINS of this FanFic._

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this and had a good laugh!_

 _Don't be shy in writing a review (if you want), let me know your thoughts on this chapter!_

 _See you next time!_


	15. Worries, Convicts and Cosplays

Hikigaya-kun has been acting...strange lately...

It has already been several days since I noticed his change of mood. His eyes look even more lifeless and completely unfocused. He might be looking at someone in the eye during the rare times that he speaks with someone, but it was as if he was looking at something far-away. I thought this would pass in a day or so, but it has already been a week.

Did something bad happen?

"Yukinoshita, here."

"Hmm."

We were currently at the student council office, filtering out the exam papers for our class according to specific subjects that we have. This was originally our teacher's job, but he was on a sick leave. To my surprise, when that information was announced during class, Hikigaya-kun stood up and said that the both of us will volunteer to do the paperwork. I was annoyed at first and stood up to speak out but he gently shook his head when our eyes met.

"I am quite shocked that you volunteered for this, are you that desperate to escape your idle laziness?"

"..."

The silence was deafening when his reply never came. I can only hear the sounds of paper against the table when he would transfer a set of papers to another box. It was so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat. His were unfocused and only looking at the work before him. I was patiently waiting for one of his snarky replies filled with sarcasm but it never came. Thus, I proceeded to seek any kind of response from him.

"Ignoring me, are you? I see that your rudeness and inability to follow social etiquette knows no bounds."

"..."

Still no reaction...

This is very unlike him. He is typically stoic and serious, rarely smiling and rubbing his smug grin on my face whenever we would argue. His face always harboring an emotionless poker face with half-lidded eyes, making him look more tired than he looks.

But today was the first time he outright ignored me.

What happened?

I noticed that he was doing his work slowly, very different from the way he usually does things in a hurry. I decided to match his speed so we can finish this together. We were finally done, and five minutes later, the bell rang signaling the start of our lunch break. After taking the box in his hands, he wordlessly stood up and walked to the door presumably to deliver it to our classroom. I just quietly walked beside him.

"Thank you for your hard work." He muttered in a voice so small that I barely heard him. Finally, a reaction.

"You too." I say

After putting down the box, he walked to where his bag was and took out his bento. I was expecting him to take it with him and go eat somewhere else, just like he always does, but he opened it and said, "Itadakimasu.", and then began eating. I looked around and noticed that only a few of our classmates were here, the ones that stayed were talking quietly among themselves. The usual noisy and boisterous ones were thankfully not here.

Should I go and eat with him? A part of me wanted to do that, but I lacked the nerve to do so. It's been a while since we last had lunch together after all, about a month ago, if I'm correct. I stood up, but my legs refused to move no matter how hard I try. Such a simple task, but it took momentous effort to do.

I sighed.

I went to my seat and opened my own bento box. Since I live alone, I always cook my food. I have never bought those lunches in convenience stores and I don't plan to do so anytime soon. Glancing to where Hikigaya-kun was eating, I couldn't help but wonder if he cooks his own food or does his mother do it for him. My Mother never saw the need to do that for me since we have our maids back at home.

Ah, I just remembered that he mostly cooks his food himself, since he mentioned it before. I wonder how his food tastes?

As classes went by, I would occasionally glance at him to see what he was doing. He was just absentmindedly scribbling on his notebook. A teacher got annoyed by his attitude and asked him to answer an unexpected and sudden question, a topic which we didn't even discuss yet. To everyone's surprise, including my own, he answered flawlessly, which made some of our classmates look at him with their mouths agape.

Our teacher, instead of looking embarrassed or any negative reaction, was pleasantly surprised and commended him, he just sat down and returned to scribbling on his notebook as if nothing happened. When our final class ended, and after Hiratsuka-sensei checked everyone's attendance for homeroom, we began packing our things so we can go home. Hikigaya-kun usually disappears from the classroom within 2 minutes after the end of classes, but this time, just like back in the student council room, he did it in a very slow manner. My curiosity got the better of me, and I walked a small distance behind him.

The students along the corridor would give me looks of awe and admiration, things that I have been used to already. In contrast, a few were giving Hikigaya-kun guarded looks and the crowd would part before him in fear when he walked. A very useful skill I say. Hikigaya-kun completely ignored them and continued walking straight.

I wonder if he is thinking about something that is causing him physical and mental stress?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several days later...

There were around 15 first-years in front of me, two-thirds of them were composed of boys. As per instruction of the principal, they were to serve community service by cleaning the first-year classrooms for violating the school rules. Consecutive tardiness, improper attire, littering, damage to school property, etc. And as the disciplinary officer of the Student Council, I have to supervise and oversee these...savages...and keep them in-line. I have to spend 8 hours here just watching them...Good grief, I should be enjoying my Saturday morning at home reading some light novels or playing games...

I feel like a jail warden...

This was the reason why I was feeling pissed these past few days.

Some of the guys would give me sheepish smiles and scratch their head whenever our eyes would meet. As for the girls, they would give me guarded looks and look away. I saw some familiar faces from the other classes whenever I would drop by to inform something to their class representatives, but I didn't know their names. Most of them were talking with each other, I didn't mind it but if they got louder, I would have to tell them to shut it. But I didn't expect to meet Peachy here.

"Hehehe...Hi Hikigaya-kun..." She laughed with discomfort and scratched here head. It's been a while since I last saw her and I almost forgot about her existence.

*Damn Hikigaya you're harsh as usual...*

Huh? Why? But it's true though.

"Hmm." I nodded at her but she looked like she expected me to say something more. Hey now, if you keep looking at me with expectant eyes, I'll get self-conscious. Since she was still waiting for me to say something, I just internally rolled my eyes and thought about possible things I could say.

A. Nice weather we're having.

B. Your makeup is nice, where did you buy it?

C. If you keep on staring intensely at me, I might get pregnant.

D. What are you in for?

Hmm...

A is too predictable, B sounds wrong, C sounds like something from a romantic comedy anime that has an utterly bland and dense MC and the show itself doesn't have any plot nor character development aside from that damned mandatory beach or hot springs fanservice episode, I guess I'll go with D then. Wait, I already know why she's here, consecutive tardiness mainly. I know most of their background since I was the one who filled a report and sent it to the principal.

"Well, try not to do it again..." I crossed my legs and checked my wristwatch. Almost time...

"Right..." I can hear the disappointment in her voice. Sorry Peachy, but I'm not in the mood to talk.

Fifteen minutes later, it was time for them to begin their sentence. I led them to the first-year classrooms where they would begin cleaning the desks, windows, floor etc. Of course, I already prepared the needed equipment beforehand so they immediately went to work when we arrived. The guys were surprisingly cooperative and did their work diligently, although they did joke around a few times, but as long as they don't bother anyone else or make a new mess, I won't mind them. I thought they were the "thug" and "delinquent" types, but I guess I was wrong.

"Tobe clean this again! This spot is still dirty bro!" I heard one of the guys exclaim.

"Oh shit sorry man! I'll be there once I'm done with this!" The guy named "Tobe" replied while he was cleaning the windows. I was mildly annoyed by their use of slang, but I just observed them from my seat.

Because I was bored and had nothing else to do, I was the one who refilled the water bucket when it was nearly empty. I got one of the empty buckets and went to the bathroom to refill it with water. However, Peachy insisted that she come with me for reasons that elude me.

"Thanks for helping out Hikigaya-kun, even though you were supposed to just watch us." She said.

Why pick the word "watch" though? You make it sound like I'm a stalker. My job was to oversee, not "watch" you guys.

"Might as well do something since I'm the only one idle." I say.

"Idle?" She tilted her head at the word when she turned to me. Ah, so she's unfamiliar with the word...

"It means not doing anything in particular." Is she the "airhead" archtype?

"Oh, I see!" She exclaimed and told me about the circumstances that led her to become convicte- I mean, _punishment_. I just listened and would occasionally nod or hmm in reply. It turns out that she was up late at night watching a new drama series and it made her wake up late due to her lack of sleep. Good grief, how anti-climactic. I was expecting something else entirely, not this cliché backdoor reason.

"What do you do during the weekends Hikigaya-kun?" Peachy asked me when we filled the buckets with and carefully walked back to the classroom.

"I have a part time job at a bookstore downtown."

"Woooww, that's like so mature and responsible..." she replied with stars in her eyes.

How exactly is that "mature and responsible"? More like a chore, but at least I'm well compensated and skilled enough to operate the cashier with my eyes closed. Tatsumi-san found it hilarious and creepy at the same time when she caught me doing it and Shiromeguri-senpai laughed her tears out when she found out.

"Is that so..."

"Yup! I don't think I'm up for that kind of stuff yet hehehe..."

"That's stupid and ridiculous. How can you say that you're "not up for that kind of stuff yet", if you never even tried it in the first place? Take scientists and inventors for example. If they had the same mentality as you, then they would have never invented and discovered scientific and industrial breakthroughs." I frowned at her from the corner of my eye.

Wait...

Oh.

I said something bad, didn't I?

"..."She said nothing while a shadow was over her face, preventing me from seeing her expression. Her hands were balled into fists and I could see them shaking.

Well now I've done it. Me and my big mouth. Why did I even blurt that out loud? That was supposed to be one of my inner musings, not something to be vocalized. Wait, she's crying, isn't she? Oh no I made a girl cry, which in the law that all males follow, makes me a scum of the earth whose life is lower than an earthworm. Time to change my name, shave my head, move to Hokkaido and spend the rest of my life away from civilization to stay in a far-away temple in the mountains.

I wonder how much money I can take from my bank account before the Order of The White Knights catch and hang me for my crimes against humanity? No, make that huwomanity. I am so funny maybe I should become a comedian.

"That's..." she said in a voice I barely heard. Is she going to slap me? I will endure any punishment for the grave misconduct that I have committed.

"That was so cool!" She exclaimed as she started waving her arms around. Woah, a peachy helicopter.

Wait, what?

"Huh?" That was all I could muster as I focused all of my mental power into figuring out what just happened.

"That was so cool Hikki! That sounded really cool and intellectual-like! I guess your position as the top student in our year-level and a member of the Student Council isn't just for show!"

Haaaah? What is she talking about? What she said just now was ridiculous. Plus, she's giving me more credit than what I believe is necessary. For what reason did she even mention my rank and position? Nonsense. I guess she's the type to be impressed by stuff like that. Wait, maybe she's a masochist that likes being talked down on?

And who is this "Hikki"?

 _ ***But Hikigaya, your rank and position IS impressive! From a third-party's point-of-view, at least. ***_

I guess you're just the same as her then.

"Ah, I see...watch where you're going." I replied in my usual nonchalant manner as I successfully managed to divert and change the flow of our conversation. I don't trust this girl because she's a nice girl, and nice girls are untrustworthy to me. They twirl you around their finger as if you're their plaything and give signals that are misunderstood by innocent and pure-hearted maidens like my middle-school self.

After my experience in middle-school with _she-who-should-not-be-named_ , I have learned much about the mysterious creatures also known as nice girls. Though they were still a complete mystery to me. I despise them a little and I do not trust them.

Peachy gave off a relaxed vibe while I was tense, but I managed to hide it well. We arrived back at the classroom and gave the bucket to the guys. I helped here and there, but when I offered my assistance, they would politely decline so I was left to my own devices as they cleaned the first-year rooms. When it was time for the one-hour lunchbreak, I informed everyone and they gave a sigh of relief. They took out their lunchboxes and began eating at the desks, some were in their own little groups, while others were sticking with one companion. Peachy was eating with the rest of the girls and they were talking and I could hear an occasional giggle.

One of the guys invited me to eat with them, but I declined and excused myself to the Student Council room where my lunch was waiting. My lunch was simple and consisted of fried pieces of chicken and pork from last night's dinner, as well was some steamed vegetables and a hardboiled egg. I didn't have time to make my lunch into a beautifully crafted bento. Mother knows how to make it as well as Komachi, I have yet to master the art itself.

After quickly eating my lunch, I went back to the classroom so we can resume the work. Everyone was ready and I can even see enthusiasm from some of the guys. Like before, I only helped a little bit since they listened to my advice earlier regarding a more efficient way of cleaning, thus, they finished things a lot faster.

But rushing things can only do so much.

I opened the door to the other room where the girls were moping the floor. Unfortunately, the floor was still wet, causing me to slip and hit my back against the door, the loud sound reverberating through the empty hallways.

I heard some gasps from the girls, and a voice from the other room loudly asking the others what had happened. Peachy was the first one to rush to me, her eyes filled with worry. It did not hurt as much as it sounded and I managed to lean my head forward just in time to avoid collision against the wall. Still, my butt hurt though...

"Hikki! Are you ok?!" She exclaimed as she tried to see if I was hurt in any way. The only thing that hurt was my pride as a man. Before I can stand up, one of the loud guys from the other room entered and had wide eyes when he saw me.

"Woah! What happened Bro?!" Don't be loud please, it hurts my ears...and don't call me "Bro".

"I slipped and fell." I said in a deadpan manner.

I made a move to get up, but Peachy extended her hand to offer her assistance. I ignored it and got up by myself. I saw her make an uncomfortable and awkward face when I didn't take her hand and I felt a little guilty.

"Is your back ok?" The guy asked again.

"I think so..." I moved my shoulders a bit and I felt a sharp pain. I must have visibly winced because their expression changed when they saw me.

"Ah you're hurt. Let's get you to the infirmary!" With that said, Peachy began to push me in a hurried manner to the door. My voice of protest died in my throat as the others encouraged me to go have my back checked. I gave up and just wordlessly followed Peachy behind.

But I can't help the feeling that I'm forgetting something...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on Hikki, let's go inside." I turned to him and he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere except here. His eyes were half-lidded while he just nodded his head at me. I followed him inside and instead of seeing the school nurse, the place was empty.

"Ah." His back was to me so I couldn't see his expression, but I can see him giving himself a facepalm.

"Today is a weekend, the school nurse isn't here." He said as he turned to me.

"Oh yeah, I forgot hahaha." I just laughed and scratched my cheek as his eyes bored holes on me.

"It can't be helped then..." He sighed and then started taking off his shirt.

WAIT WHAT?!

"WHUH?! WHAT? WHY ARE YOU-" I couldn't hold my voice down as I tried to cover my eyes.

"Just take a look and see if there are any bruises or whatnot..." He said in a dismissive way that had no room for arguments as he finally took off his shirt.

Even though I tried to cover my eyes, my eyes couldn't help wander and take a look at his upper body.

He was lean and was unexpectedly fit which meant that he must exercise from time to time. The muscles that he had on his arms and chest looked good on his overall physique. His was also paler than I expected. He wasn't really that muscular, nor too skinny. He looked...just right.

Although the visible and prominent lines he had on his lower abdomen made me blush...

"Ahem..." He cleared his throat after I just gawked at him for several seconds. I blurted out nonsensical words while he put a hand on his hip and gave me an unimpressed look. After I calmed myself down, he sat down and faced away from me. I took a step forward to comply with his request.

After several seconds, I saw a dark part a few inches below his left shoulder blade. My hand moved on its own and lightly touched the area beside it.

"!" The hairs on his back stood straight when my fingers made contact and he suddenly sat straight which startled me.

"S-Sorry!" I exclaimed as I pulled my hand back.

"Did you notice anything?" He asked as he craned his head to the left to meet my eyes.

"Yeah, there's a small bruise below your left shoulder blade..."

"Touch it again, slowly this time."

I followed him and my fingers lightly touched the dark area, he didn't give any visible reaction.

"Take my hand and lead it to the bruise." He held out his left hand while he faced away from me. I gulped before I took his hand in mine. They were bigger and weren't as warm, maybe it's just my imagination...

Mama said that boys and men who have calloused and rough hands are hardworking individuals, but Hikki's was soft, almost like a girl.

When I led his hand to where the bruise was, he lightly touched it and gave a satisfied grunt. He stood up, and turned to me.

Woah! Don't just do that so suddenly!

"Thank you very much for your assistance."

Don't thank me while you're shirtless!

"Y-Yeah, no problem..." I tried to hide my obvious blush and embarrassment, but my eyes were naturally drawn to him.

"Your shirt..." I muttered in a low voice.

"Ah, forgive me if I made you uncomfortable." This time he lightly bowed to me while shirtless again.

He's so weird! This day is so weird!

"L-Like I said! No problem..." I watched him put on his shirt once more and I gave a sigh of relief. He checked his wristwatch and narrowed his eyes, maybe he's thinking about something.

"Let's wrap things up for today." He motioned at me to follow him and I obediently complied. When we arrived at the classroom, he announced to everyone that they were free to go. When asked if he was fine after he slipped, he replied with a simple, "Yes I am, thank you for your concern."

His words were really formal but had an icy tone in them.

"Bro! We're gonna go to a karaoke later, wanna come with us?" One of the guys asked him in his loud voice.

"Ah, thank you but I'm exhausted." He waved him off and after saying "Well, I'll be going on ahead.", he walked out of the door. I caught him move his left shoulder a bit and saw him wince again. I excused myself so I can catch up with him because I know he walks really fast.

"Hikki!" I called out when I finally caught up to him.

"Did you need something, Yuigahama-san?" He faced me and cocked one of his eyebrows.

"I'm really sorry for earlier..." I say as I played with my hair and avoided his eyes because he might get mad on what I'm about to say next.

He blinked twice and gave me a confused look as he tilted his head to the side.

"Hm?"

"I should have properly wiped the floor that you stepped on. It's my fault that you were hurt." I bowed in apology to him.

"Is that so..." he muttered and just continued staring at me. Oh no, he must be pretty mad.

"Uhuh..."

"Well, try not to do it again next time..." he gave me a small wave and began walking away. The tone of his voice was neutral as ever and he didn't give off any negative vibes.

"Wait! What about your back?" I stepped forward to catch up with him.

"I'll just get put some ice and ointment on it when I arrive home...anyway, your friends are looking for you." He pointed behind me to where the other girls were looking for something.

"Oh ok, see you around then..." He nodded at me and walked away. When I went to where the other girls were, they were talking about how creepy Hikki was.

"He was really cold to all of us girls, except for the guys and Yuigahama for some reason, well, at least he talked to her without looking really annoyed." She turned to me with a questioning-look.

"Are you two close Yuigahama?" She asked.

"Not really, we only met a few times." I reply.

"Well, anyway, he was really cold to us. Does he hate girls or something?"

"Maybe he's gay? Hahahaha!" Tamako-san said with a laugh and the other girls laughed too.

To change the subject, I asked everyone I they wanted to go to the mall or something. They all agreed and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and getting to know more about each other.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A costume party...

A COSTUME PARTY

Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!

My vote was overturned during the meeting with the rest of the Student Council members and teachers! Even the teachers are normies reeeeeeeee! I thought Hiratsuka-sensei would have my back this, but she just grinned at me and gave me a thumbs-up. After I presented them with my expertly crafted case filled with cold logic, possible management issues, time constraints, lack of manpower and participants and a special focus on the budget that would be allocated for such a useless and senseless event, they still decided to go with it! My perfect internal sabotage plan failed!

After everything was said and done, the committees were formed, along with the leaders from each year level and all the class representatives. And thus, began the preparations for the event. This was my first-time taking part in organizing an even this large, so I would always consult teachers and the other members of the Student Council before I would make any independent decisions. We sent the purchasing committees to search for the cheapest materials in different stores in the city, materials that were cheap and quality weren't questionable. Of course, we only sent the most trustworthy people, they _were_ holding onto money owned by the school after all.

As for the food stands and such, the school already has a list of registered and trusted partners so things were more or less easy in that part. We also decided to include the all the sports club members in doing the heavy labor like the moving and transferring of equipment and such. I even saw Blondie together with the football club moving the heavy speakers and lights the other day. For some reason, it was satisfying to watch that it brought a twisted smirk to my face.

Of course, we had mandated everyone, especially the girls, that the costumes must not show too much skin. We are still in school after all, as to remind those thots, hoes, sluts, harlots-

 _ ***Hikigaya! Language!***_

You get the point.

So, after about two weeks of preparations, it was finally the day before the big day. We inspected everything to the tiniest detail. We tested all the equipment and distributed the walkie-talkies among the committee members. It was really cool when I tried it, I felt like Robocop.

I was so preoccupied that I forgot to get my own costume and tomorrow was the deadliest deadline. I honestly have no idea what I should wear. I wonder if it is ok to cosplay as a student from Sobou High? If I just wear my uniform, that is.

Should I ask Komachi for help? Ugh, never mind, she will probably get all worked up on this.

Suddenly, I had a spark of ingenious.

I went to my closet to look for that particular article of clothing. When I opened it, it was there, good as new. Almost as if I only wore it once. Oh yeah, I did. Now that that was out of the way, I looked for the second one to pair it with.

The box that held all of my cringey middle-school antics, magic notebooks, talismans, enchanted rings and capes, and even my toy gun was underneath my bed. I went through my stuff, as if I was touching something disgusting and I finally found it. It's silvery plating with sharp protrusions to the side and blood red markings still looked cool, even I had to admit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's a good thing that is already the end of autumn, and it isn't as hot as it used to be. The cold weather is slowly approaching and I noticed that it was getting to get cold in the morning when I jog every now and then. I honestly find it ridiculous that we have to walk around in school wearing our costumes for the whole day. I pity those poor souls who wore any complicated costumes, I have yet to find someone who went complete overkill on their outfit. It's a good thing that mine is simple and practical. Sometimes, simplicity is the best.

When Dad dropped me off at the school gates, there were a lot of people. There were many stalls that offered things from food to one of those 100 Yen games. As expected, many non-students were attracted to the place, most of them were children accompanied by their parents or older siblings. I told Komachi to drop by if she had the time and Mom would try to come too. I met up with Kawasaki the other day and Kei-chan would be coming with her.

As I walked through the halls filled with students in their outfits, it was satisfying to see that none of the girls wore any revealing clothing. Because if they did, I will personally drag them by the hair to the principal's office, or I can call our hired muscle with my walkie-talkie and kick them out of the school grounds.

 _ ***Woah there, Hikigaya, you're sounding like a Yakuza boss. ***_

Anyway, some of the people that I encountered would give me strange looks. Most of them were curious looks, as if they recognized me, but my name and true identity still eluded them. I caught some looking at me with wonder, though they immediately broke eye-contact when I laid my eyes one them.

It's not like my outfit was eye-catching or anything. I just wore my suit, black slacks and leather shoes, paired with my makeshift mask from middle-school as a masquerade. Mother styled my hair this morning and took a few embarrassing photos of me posing like a character from a very famous anime. If I was a superhero, my name would be Masque-Master. All I needed was another figure posing behind me and BAM I have the power to rule **[THE WORLD]**. Also, the mask covered the entirety of my face except the bottom half, so I'm guessing it would be pretty difficult to recognize me in this get up.

I made a mental checklist of things to do for today. Since the opening event already started earlier this morning, all I had to do was check everything that needed to be checked and be around if ever I was needed for something. Out of curiosity, I decided to pass by our classroom and take a peek at what everyone else was wearing.

 _ ***Hikigaya, that sounded really creepy***_

Shut up.

After several minutes, I arrived and except for a few bags that most presumably belonged to my classmates, the room was devoid of any signs of life. It looks like everyone was outside enjoying themselves. It's not like we have a lonely soul in our class that doesn't have any friends and spends most of his time alone in solitude. Wait, there's me. But upon a closer inspection, I saw a lone figure with long black hair sitting on one of the chairs near my own.

Woah! Scary! Is that a ghost?!

The figure wore an attire fitting for a Miko, or a Shrine Priestess. It had long red divided trousers and a white kimono jacket with some red and white hair ribbons that paired well with its long flowing black hair, it was just starting off into space, as if the wall in front of it was the most interesting thing in the world.

I should think logically here, not jump to conclusions. After a second or two, I concluded who that person was.

"Yukinoshita." My voice, although not very loud, echoed across the empty classroom. When I called her by her name, she visibly jolted from surprise. She turned to the source of the sound and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me. I didn't see it at first, but when she turned to me, she also had a golden dragon head ornament which nestled on her forehead.

She immediately frowned at me and opened her mouth to speak.

"Who are you?" She asked with a guarded tone. Ah, I understand her apprehension. If I was just sitting in this classroom all alone and suddenly some guy in a suit wearing a masquerade mask called my name, I would be startled too.

"Ah."

I raised my left hand to the bottom left corner of the mask and slowly slid it to the side to reveal the rest of my face.

"Boo."

Three seconds have passed and her eyes widened, her lips were also slightly parted while her left hand was raised near her mouth in surprise. Geez talk about being a drama queen.

"Oh, it's just you Hikigaya-kun" She said after a moment of silence and gave me a dead-eyed look. Oi, that's my trademark look don't copy me. How rude, just me? What the heck is she implying huh? Do you want to fight huh?

She gave a searching look and said, "And you are a…?"

"A masquerade man."

"A…masquerade man…?" She covered her mouth and lightly giggled while facing away from me. Oi, if you keep doing out of character stuff like that, I might have to call the police and inform them that you are an impostor.

"Haha very funny. And what about you?" I gave her a snarky reply after she composed herself.

"Are you blind? I am a Shrine Priestess." She flicked her hair to the side and cocked one of her eyebrows at me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask and walk inside the room. Now that I closed the door, the noise from outside had significantly lessened, making the already quiet room more suffocating.

"It was getting crowded outside, so I went back here." She said. _"There's too many people and I don't like it so I came back here like a scared little girl."_ is what I understood if I read between the lines. But I won't judge her, we do share the same sentiment regarding that matter after all.

"Ah, I see." I walked past her to go to the window to see a bird's-eye-view of the festivities below. There were a lot of people now and it was getting a bit crowded. I can see some of the members of the crowd control team ushering people here and there as well as helping them out by pointing them to the right direction to where they want to go. It's good to see things in order and not in chaos. After about 10 minutes of observing, I decided that it was time to go and do what I came here to do.

"I'll be going ahead." I say to her, but not a moment too soon, she stood up and wordlessly followed me outside. I just shrugged at her behavior and opened the door for her, earning a "Thank you.", in response.

"Well, where are you going?" I ask her as she walked beside me. I adjusted my mask again so I can properly see her through the eye holes.

"Nowhere in particular." The tone she used in replying suggested that she didn't want me to pry further, so I just kept my mouth shut. With her in tow, I went to the Student Council room to get our logbook so I can check the attendance of the committees assigned to me. I was very vocal that the committees should be given more independence, so that they wouldn't have to rely on us too much, but the other teachers were very adamant on that matter so my voice fell on deaf ears. Using my walkie-talkie, I informed the committee leaders to rendezvous at a certain location so we can properly discuss the current situation. While I did so, Yukinoshita would give curious looks at the walkie-talkie from time to time, as if a child wanting to play with a toy, but unsure if she is allowed to do so.

I still had some time before our short meeting, so I decided to check out the stalls. Yukinoshita is well-known in our school, I even heard some say that she is the most beautiful in all of the first years. With that kind of reputation, many would give her looks of admiration and awe from boys and girls alike. She walked with grace and elegance and even looked more eye-catching due to what she was wearing. Unfortunately, because I was with this humanoid attention magnet, I also gained their attention. But they didn't recognize who I am so this was fine, I guess.

The smell coming from the food stalls outside was very tempting and my legs moved on their own and walked towards them. There were many people, and just by looking at the crowd I felt dizzy. I turned to Yukinoshita and gave her a look that said, _"Oi, I'm gonna go there, are you ok with that?"_ , she gave me a small nod in reply and I went to the first stall which was the Yakisoba stand. It had a sizable line and I had to do a double take if I should continue waiting in line or go to another food stand. Sweat was beginning to form on my forehead, and I discreetly took off my mask for a moment to wipe it with my handkerchief.

"Yo! Bro!" I had a feeling that I was the one being called and looked around for the punk who decided to call me by that Riajuu-like name. It turns out it was one of the guys behind the stall, waving at me to come to him. I recognized him from the food committee, but I forgot his name.

He gave me a wide smile when I came to him while Yukinoshita followed behind me. "Ah, working so hard I see…" I commented as I saw the rest of his team cook the yakisoba and put it on a small Styrofoam container, the type you see in fast-food take outs.

"Yup! Here, have one on the house and for your friend too!" he exclaimed as he pushed two of the small boxes in my hands.

Haaah? Did he just assume that me and Yukinoshita are friends? I'll have you know that-, ugh, never mind…

"I couldn't possibly take this, at least let me pay." I made a move to get my wallet, but he was quite persistent.

"Nonsense! Think of this as a token of our appreciation for your hard work these past two weeks!" He gave me another smile, this time it was pure and grateful. I sighed, relented and received the two of them. My Father once told me that it is very rude to refuse a gift freely given to you. Plus, food always tastes better when it's free.

"Well, thank you." I thank him and gave the other box to Yukinoshita. She frowned at it at first but I nudged it closer to her face which visibly annoyed her and she was forced to take it by hand. She leered at me while I just gave her my usual deadpan stare. After I thanked them again for their hard work and for the food that they gave me, we looked for a place that we can sit on so as to finally eat our food. We found a small table outside that was prepared for this event, it even had a large umbrella above us to boot. But before we could sit down, I saw that Yukinoshita's seat was dirty, so I shoo'ed her away so I can wipe it clean. As an elite cleaner in our household, seeing dirty things give me the urge to clean it right away.

"Thank you." She muttered as she finally took a seat. She looked around and observed the surroundings for a bit. What caught her eye was a student around our age in a witch costume walking hand-in-hand with her little sister, the both of them laughing and talking as they walked past our table. I could be wrong, but I thought I sensed envy in the way she looked at them.

I excused myself to buy ourselves some drinks. Yukinoshita offered to give me her share of the pay but I politely refused. She frowned at me but didn't say anything further. I got up and looked for a vending machine to buy our much-needed beverage. After buying two bottles of green tea, I began walking back but I saw something on the corner of my eye.

He was wearing an outfit that befits a prince, a royal tunic, a red cape and even a crown on his head. Princecharming was all smiles as he was surrounded by his fans. Ah, as expected of Hayato Hayama, he attracts all sorts of people with that friendly aura of his. He handled the crowd well, even I had to admit. I would certainly feel uncomfortable and nauseated if a large number of strangers were within close proximity to me. Our eyes met for a split second before I was absorbed by the crowd in front of me.

I went back to our table where Yukihime-sama was patiently waiting for me. We ate our food in silence amid the noise in the background. I saw Ebina-san, or Hinata-san, I don't know, walk by as she chatted with her friends. She cosplayed as a policewoman and it actually looked nice on her, she even had a toy gun at her hip and wore aviator sunglasses. She didn't recognize me since I was still wearing the mask.

Pretty cool, to be honest. Though I didn't call out to her because I was eating at that time and I might choke and die on the spot. I don't know if Yukihime-sama in front of me would offer her assistance, or just laugh and kick me as I was writhing on the cold ground in agony as I fought for my life.

"I have to go." I say after taking a peek at my wristwatch. It's almost time for our short meeting at the rendezvous point and I have to be there.

"I see, I will just…observe the other festivities for a while…" She said.

"Will you be alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," I say and give her a quick look from top to bottom. She was wearing a Miko costume, and I heard that those things are annoying to move in. "never mind." I give her a dismissive wave to end the subject. Being too considerate might be seen as a flirt or creepy. And since it is her that I am talking about, she would no doubt choose the latter to accuse me of being a perverted deviant out to have my way with innocent girls. Seriously, her insults can be really sharp at times and can even make me wince.

"Well, have fun and try not to scare away people with that cold aura of yours." I gave her a small smirk which caused her eye to twitch and a nerve to tick on her forehead.

"Ara, that's rich coming from a dead-eyed lowlife degenerate like yourself." She titled her head and gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. After that, I walked to the rendezvous area to meet the other committee leaders and assess the situation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours later, it was already sunset. The dance competitions would start in an hour, I wasn't assigned to those programs, and I can definitely go home and rest. But I realized that there isn't much I could do at home since I got bored of my games, so I decided to stick around for a little while longer. Most of the students where already waiting in line at the gym hall where the programs will be held, but there was still a significant amount loitering on the school grounds, a significant number of them were still walking to the food stalls. I know this because I was at the roof of our building.

With no other choice in my head, to the auditorium to see if the others needed my help. I wasn't in a hurry so I walked at my own pace.

Everything was going smoothly as planned, almost too smoothly that I had a feeling that something bad is about to happen. Still, it was amusing to watch the students in their different kinds of costumes lining up to enter the auditorium. Though I didn't go inside yet because the music was too loud and it getting a bit crowded for my taste, so I opted to just lean on a steel post and observe. There was a guy cosplaying as Godzilla in an inflatable suit and a girl who cosplayed as a pretty boy that even I had to do a double take. The power of makeup is amazing. I even saw one guy that wore clothes fit for a chef, but in his hands was a ridiculously huge plastic sword that was similar to what soul reapers wielded in combat.

It must be pretty useful, having a zanpaktou for combat and cooking, that is…

"Haa-chan!" A voice of a young girl broke my inner thoughts. Wait, that's impossible! No one should be able to recogni-

Before I could even finish, two small arms wrapped around my leg and a mop of blue silvery hair snuggled against my thigh. She wore a small lab gown of some sort and protective glasses on her head, she must be cosplaying as a scientist. How did Kei-chan recognize me? Is this her special power?

"Kei-chan, you're here." I kneeled down and took off my mask, her mouth formed into an "o" when she saw my face. Ah, she must have been petrified by my looks.

"Haa-chan you look so cool!" Kei-chan reached out her hand and I handed her my weaboo mask. It feels weird now that I took it off. The mask was too big for her and it completely covered her face.

HNN! So cute!

"How did you recognize me?" I asked her.

"Re…cognize…?" She tiled her head when she heard the unfamiliar word.

That's so cute…

"Hmm, how did you know who I was even though I was wearing the mask?" I ask again.

"I don't know, when I saw you, I knew you were Haa-chan right away!" She exclaimed. Wow this little girl definitely has powers. I ruffled her hair and she just gave me a big smile. Her big sister must be nearby, and when I looked around, I saw her walking towards us. Kawasaki wore a slim black vest over a white inner blouse, coupled with a slim-fitting black skirt and black stockings. On top of her head was a strange hat that I couldn't quite name. I don't know how she did it but her long ponytail was replaced by a neat bun.

"Hi there, Hikigaya."

"Hmm."

"We're going inside to watch the performances, wanna come?" She asked.

"Thank you but I'll pass. It's too crowded in there."

She gave me a "hmm" in response and picked up Keika in her arms, she had a confused look when she saw the oversized mask that Keika wore.

"Ah, so you're a…" Her voice trailed off as she couldn't quite finish what she was about to say after she gave me back my mask.

"A masquerade man." A shit, now that I think about it, it sounds really cringy.

"Oh, that's..cool, I guess…?" she gave me an awkward smile. Oh no please don't say considerate things to me or else I'll feel more pathetic.

"Well, you look really nice too." I say. I just realized that she is cosplaying as a flight stewardess now that I recognized that hat. It fitted her nicely, as if she was born to wear it.

In Riajuu-talk, she is " _killing it_ ".

She blushed when I said it and tried to move a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear. The thing was, her hair was in a bun so she ended up moving nothing and looking silly.

"Thanks."

The school speakers suddenly had an announcement, the dance performances and evening activities will start in fifteen minutes.

"Well, try and look for us if you change your mind, see you around Hikigaya." With a wave from the both of them, they walked to the direction of the auditorium.

Looking up, I saw that it was dark already. The night came earlier these days, making the darkness longer. Only a few weeks left until the snows fall...

I decided to go to a nearby bench and just read on whatever interesting articles that I come across on my phone. Along with that, I searched for the latest light novel titles and read their summaries and reviews. Most of them had bad reviews, damn reviewers can get pretty harsh on their comments. Maybe I should become a light novel writer and my first book would be an isekai genre with a ridiculously long name. I received a message from Mom saying that she and Dad are having dinner with some acquaintances. I'll just drop by the grocery later and make some hotpot or something.

For the next hour or so, I just sat on the bench and played some games on my phone. It was around that time that whatever events that were ongoing inside the auditorium finally ended, signaling the end of today's events. I waited several minutes for the crowd to thin out before I looked for Shiromeguri-senpai. She wore a witch costume with a rather large and exaggerated witch hat. I wonder if she knows the "EXPLOSION" spell? The black robe that she had was a rather nice touch.

"All right guys! The event was a success! Thank you for your hard work!" Shiromeguri-senpai used her passive skill which immediately made all people within her area of effect listen to her.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Everyone else congratulated each other. Uwahh, now comes the annoying part...

After that, around 100 student volunteers showed up to assist in cleaning and organizing the place back to normal, including the areas outside occupied by the food stalls. Even with the extra manpower, it still took us another hour to finish up. I left my mask in the locker room and took off my jacket since I was starting to sweat. Good grief, manual labour is still not my thing, I am not a slave!

I was already at the school gates when I saw Yukinoshita about to enter her family car. She noticed my presence and turned to acknowledge me.

"Hikigaya-kun."

"Yukinoshita."

"Hi there Hikigaya-kun!"

Huh?

One of the open windows revealed a young lady whom I hadn't seen in a while. She gave me a cheeky mischievous smile. That all too-familiar smile. That smile, that damned smile...

"Good evening, Haruno-san." Upon saying hearing her name, she pouted. Oh please, that level of manipulation won't work on me.

"I told you to address me as Onee-sama." She gave me a wink in the process while Yukinoshita looked even more annoyed than usual. To change the subject, I turned to Yukinoshita and asked if they were going home already, to which she replied yes.

"My, how bold of you, Hikigaya-kun. To be that eager to meet our parents already..." Haruno-san's side comment made me want to give her a glare, to which I decided not to do in the last moment. The girl in front of me, on the other hand, had no visible reaction to her older sister's teasings.

"What about you?"

"Headed to the grocery to buy some ingredients." I say.

"You come with us then, we can just drop you off." Haruno-san offered. That wasn't a bad idea actually. I was going to the bigger ones downtown since our neighborhood grocery might be closed already, considering the time. I planned to ride a taxi, but since an opportunity is right in front of me…

"Is that ok?" I asked her.

"Of course!" Haruno-san jeered and motioned at me to enter the vehicle.

"Well, I'll be in your care then." Their driver opened the door for us, with Yukinoshita going first and then me. It was quite spacious inside. Yukinoshita sat as far away from me as she possibly can. Oi I'm not carrying any contagious diseases you know. The vehicle lurched forward after I told them where I need to be dropped off. Without warning, a bright light engulfed us, and I saw my life flash through my eyes. Ah, I'm getting dramatic again.

"There! A nice memory for this moment!" Haruno-san proudly exclaimed as she started reviewing the photo that she took. From the dim light inside the vehicle, I could see that Yukinoshita looked quite annoyed. Truthfully, I already expected this to happen, so I opted to just cross my arms across my chest and stare blankly outside the window.

"Aww, you guys are no fun." She said and showed us the picture. Since it was a selfie with us in the background, her face occupied most the photo, she still looked beautiful though. I already expected how I looked in the photo, looking all serious as I stared out the window with my arms crossed across my chest, but to my surprise, Yukinoshita looked the same. The only difference was that she crossed her legs.

"You look like a couple who just had an argument hehehe." Haruno-san giggled as she saved the photo in her phone. I couldn't help but do a facepalm, not out of embarrassment, but out of the ridiculousness of the situation.

In the end, what I got was a ride with a pissed off Ojou-sama, while my self-proclaimed Onee-sama giggled in the background.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hi everyone!

Sorry for my prolonged absence, it took me quite a while to finish this. This was originally going to be 15k words, but I decided that it was too long so I cut it into 9k words instead. If you're wondering what Yukinoshita looks like, try looking up Mitsuha from _Your Name_ while she was doing her role as a shrine priestess. Good movie tho, I highly recommend it. I don't really have anything else to say lol.

Thank you for reading and please look forward to the next chapter!


	16. Warmth, At The End Of The day

"Thank you for the ride, Haruno-san." I say as I step outside the vehicle. The air was cold, but not too cold that I would need a jacket. It's quite a relief that the grocery was still open, and I could see several patrons inside the store.

"No problem, Hikigaya-kun!" For some reason, she got outside of the car and stood in front of me. She wore plain jeans and a black blouse with frilly girly designs, but she still looked nice.

"Now, stay still." She said. I was confused, and more so when she suddenly held my upper arm.

She had an analyzing look while she patted me down, and she also began feeling my forearm. After that she let go and and walked around me with a hand under her chin. I stayed quiet, still confused but I was afraid what she will do if I disturbed her.

She finally stood in front of me and stared at me in the eye and I unblinkingly returned her stare.

"You've grown." She finally said.

"How so?" I ask.

"Well, you got taller since I last met you."

Hmm, she's right. We're at eye-level now. She did wear high-heels back then but I'm sure there's a noticeable difference from another viewing perspective. But I don't feel like I've grown. In all honesty, I still feel like the wimpy loser that I was from Middle-school. The only difference is I'm not doing anything cringe-worthy anymore.

Well, as far as I can tell anyway.

"Ah, it looks like I have." I replied cooly.

"Now don't get cheeky here, Hi-ki-ga-ya-kun, I'm still your Onee-san, you hear?" She grinned and pinched my cheek. Ouch.

"Yes yes. My cheek hurts." I say as I rubbed it after she let go. I'm jokingly exaggerating of course.

"Well, would you like Onee-san to kiss the spot to make the pain go away?" She said in a flirty and suggestive manner. The way she said it made my heart skip a beat and become delusional. She batted her eyelashes at me while I was caught off guard by how luscious here lips looked-

WOAH THERE! I nearly for that trap! If I did, I would have probably be on the floor licking her shoes right now. Or confessed to her on the spot. Whichever comes first.

"Thank you for the offer but I'm not the unfaithful type." I say in a neutral tone with the underlying meaning in my words. She's not the only one that can be such a cheeky tease.

"Eh?" She broke character as her eyes widened in surprise. Oh, her face is so priceless. If I could take a photo of it, I'd make it as my phone wallpaper.

I just lightly smirked at her as she anticipated my reply.

"..."

"..."

"It was a joke."

"Damn you." She grinned and lightly hit my arm.

"Well," I point to the grocery store behind me with my thumb. "I have to go. Thanks again and tell Yukinoshita I said goodbye."

"Ara, what a gentleman you are, Hikigaya-kun." She put her right hand near her cheek in a mocking Ojou-sama image. That said, I can sense Yukinoshita's gaze from the inside of the car, even with their windows tinted black.

I roll my eyes at her. "That's just called being courteous." I turn around and didn't look back as I entered the building behind me.

* * *

Waking up is a chore.

Getting up from your bed is annoying.

I love sleep. It's peaceful trance as the hours go by can never be compared to anything in the material world. That's why I sleep as much as I can wherever I can, even at school and at the train. I sleep during breaks, even though Yukinoshita would give me a disapproving look, and also sleep at the library if I have extra time. The librarian there already knows me, and doesn't mind me resting there. A teacher caught me sleeping once, but he sighed and gave me an understanding look with a pinch of pity on top.

Great, now my teachers are feeling pity for me. And getting pity from someone is the last thing I want.

But sleeping and waking up in your own bed at home is an entirely different matter altogether.

Some wake up alone in their room, some wake up with their cat sleeping next them and some wake up with their partner beside their bed. But today, I woke up with someone beside my bed.

"..."

When I fully registered the situation, I gave her a deadpan look while she have me a sleepy cheeky grin. Her hair was obviously messy but she still looked cute as heck.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. She pouted and buried her face into my neck, humming in a satisfied tone to herself. I sighed in exasperation and glanced down and noticed that she was wearing one of my sweatshirts. Doesn't she know that a girl wearing a guy's shirt is equivalent to a castle raising the flag of it's conqueror?

I didn't protest as she wrapped her hands around me and locked them together behind my back, effectively immobilizing me. Even through the fabric of my t-shirt, I felt her cold hands as she pressed herself as much as she can to get as much warmth from me as possible.

Poor thing, she must be freezing.

Even though I didn't mind the physical contact, someone downstairs might be stimulated too much. It is morning after all. And as a male, there are some bodily functions which I have no control on, in other words, a _natural reaction_. With that said, plus the one unknowingly (or knowingly) stimulating me was a female, makes this situation all the more _harder_ to bear.

"Komachi, let go. I have to get up." I say though my voice was a bit muffled because her hair somehow found its way near my mouth.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to crawl into my bed?" I added and made a slight movement, which caused her to make a whimpering sound. I made a mental note to request Dad to put an additional lock in my door.

"Noooo~~" She replied as she pulled herself closer to me while her right leg intertwined with mine.

Oi this is going a bit too far. Even though you are my silly Imotou, there are still some limitations you know. I tried getting up but she whimpered again and her grip tightened. I have to use my secret weapon then!

I slowly moved my hands to her sides, nothing near anything provocative of course. Komachi has always been a ticklish girl, and as her big brother, I know all of my little sister's weak spots.

Wait, that sounded wrong.

I tickled her sides with my magic hands and her reaction was immediate. She squealed in surprise and she grabbed my arms in an attempt to stop me. Resistance is futile, little one.

"AH! NO! STOP AHAHAHA!" she pleaded me while the corners of her eyes already had a trace of tears. My inner sadist awoke when I saw her vulnerable and pleading face, and I intensified my assault. I grabbed both of her wrists with my left hand and pinned them above her head, neutralizing any resistance she might give and effectively making her even more vulnerable than before.

"I'm going to mess you up and leave you senseless." I declare before resuming my attacks.

The cheeky little brat that was stubborn a few minutes ago was replaced by a drooling and mentally broken shell of a human being who can't even utter a single word.

Status of Komachi: Mind Broken and Defeated.

"I'm going downstairs and making breakfast." I say as I walked towards the door, but not before covering her with my thick blanket and rolling her limp body into a sushi. Satisfied with my work and turning up the heater in my room, I open the door to go downstairs.

I don't feel really cold. I mean do feel that it's cold but not enough for me to start shivering or cover myself with a double layer of shirts at home. Maybe my jogs in the early morning amidst the cold morning air gave me a resistance against the cold?

I peek in my parent's room and I see Mom alone sprawled on the bed. Dad is busy at work and wasn't able to come home recently. He mentioned that the construction of the ship was behind schedule due increment weather impeding the progress construction. I haven't seen him in about two weeks, but he makes his presence known through other means.

Wait, I'm making it sound like he passed away...

Whenever he goes to a new place, he always sends us a package filled with food ingredients from that area. He went to Hokkaido and sent us some authentic noodles for ramen the other week. I frequently hear that ramen chefs there are unparalleled. I tried cooking the first batch, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Maybe I shouldn't have added too much spring onions, or my chicken stock that I added later lacked flavour. I took a mental note of my cooking so I can make it tastier next time.

Kamakura greeted me by meowing and brushing himself against my leg. He purred as I scratched the area behind his ear as he licked my hand.

I took out some eggs, olive oil, pepper, salt, garlic, onions and of course, the frying pan. Alongside the miso soup and grilled smoked salmon from last night. I was quite getting good in cooking fried rice, so I decided to make that with thinly sliced pieces of garlic. I experimented by adding small pieces of leftover fried fish, pork, chicken, beef and even scrambled eggs, the results were great.

I happened to bump into Shiromeguri-senpai yesterday and ended up leaving the classroom to eat with her in the Student Council room. After telling her that I usually cook my own lunches, she asked if she could have a taste of my lunch, to which I replied yes since I cooked too much. Her eyes had hearts when she tasted a spoonful of my lunch filled with blood, sweat and tears. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Anyway, she said it tasted great and it made me feel really happy. It was the first time that someone outside my family tasted my cooking, and said that it was great on the first taste to boot. I am not a perfect cook by any means. I made numerous mistakes and experiments that ended with failure. But I was quick to learn from them and became extra careful not to repeat the same mistake twice.

Since I was already in a hurry, I opted to just buy whatever food that was available in the cafeteria instead of cooking my own lunch. What a shame, I had no time to eat a proper breakfast, but at least Mom and Komachi won't have to worry about food for this morning.

I went back up to my room to see that Komachi was still sleeping, same with Mom. I showered quickly and changed into my school uniform after drying myself. The new black jacket that Mom bought me the other day fitted me nicely and I loosely put my red scarf around my neck. My bag was already on the sofa, ready to be taken at a moment's notice.

Just as I was about to pick up my bag and put on my shoes, the doorbell rang.

"Package for the Hikigaya household!" A person's voice called out from outside.

Interesting, what could this be?

I opened the door and saw the delivery guy-I mean girl, I think she was about Haruno-san's age. A sudden cold breeze and then a few snowflakes getting into my eye. At her foot was a box around 3 feet by 1 foot in size. This must be from Dad.

"Good morning!" She said in greeting, no doubt being courteous to customers and the like is important in a job like her's. Customer satisfaction through quality customer service. If the customer is impressed by the service given or is just a generous and kind soul, he will give a tip to the employee. Unfortunately, many culture's view of tips differ, it is either looked down upon and seen as insulting or demeaning to the employee or either one that is done without question like an unspoken rule of sorts. I read that in Dad's old college books by the way.

"Likewise." I replied. She produced a small wooden clipboard from her bag, some paperwork for me to sign, no doubt.

"Please sign here and your full name please." She pointed and I filled them out. After taking it back and checking, she gave a satisfied nod. I leaned down to pick-up the box, it was heavier than it looked.

"Thank you for your hard work." I thank her as she went back to the small truck that was parked in front of our house. Now that is an upstanding productive member of society that every child should grow up to become. I went back in and put the box on the couch. After getting my bag and putting on my shoes, I went outside and locked the door behind me.

I didn't want to ride a bike since the road might be slippery, biking in cold weather, even with the absence of snow can be dangerous. A small amount of frost might have formed on the road in the early hours of the morning, and I'm not taking any chances.

The walk to school was uneventful, though I had to slow my pace a bit because I might slip and fall and break my neck and die. But that's just me over-thinking things as usual. I craned my neck up to look at the sky. Snowflakes were slowly falling to their inevitable death when they reached the ground, a few crows cawing from the top of electric poles, two cats huddling close to each other for warmth, some cars here and there and the occasional fellow student walking to school.

There was a convenience store nearby, so I decided to make a detour to get something light to eat. Fainting half-way through the morning because of an empty stomach is not part of today's plans. Though that does not mean that I am a fragile weakling per say. This is just a necessary countermeasure, needed to preserve my dignity and to prevent my social status from plummeting even further.

I was startled by how cold the handle of the door was since I was not wearing gloves. As I pushed the door open, I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt the heaters inside. There were several patrons inside, the usual corporate slave and my fellow students. I bought milk in a carton and two melonpans. After paying for my items, I briskly walked outside so I can arrive in class on time. My plan was to eat while on my way there, but I didn't feel like it so put it in my bag.

When I turned at the corner that lead to the classroom, I bumped into Hiratsuka-sensei that was also going in that direction.

"Good morning Sensei."

"Good morning, I was just about to look for you." Hiratsuka-sensei said when she turned and met my eyes.

"What is it?"

Instead of reprimanding me for my somewhat rude reply, she narrowed her eyes and gave me a searching look. Do I have something on my face? Or is it my grotesque physical form that abhors you?

"You look…pale. Have you eaten your breakfast yet?" She asked.

"I woke up late and skipped breakfast." I shrugged my shoulders. Thanks to a certain _someone_ , I am not in my current predicament. If that certain _someone_ had woken me up instead of crawling into my bed and making me her personal heater, I could have avoided this.

"Do I look noticeably pale though?" Komachi, Mom, Sensei and even Tatsumi-san would frequently comment on this whenever I skipped eating.

"Yes you do."

"Ah." I got one melonpan from my bag and showed it to Sensei. "I have this though." I added.

"I'll give you five minutes to finish that. There's a pile of papers with a note "1st Years". Go to the other classes and distribute them. You can do it during lunch time." Sensei turned, her hair swaying at the motion and started walking away to our classroom ahead.

Woah, that looked cool.

* * *

Sensei's eyes scanned the room. Sharp as a hawk and piercing as a…spear…?

Anyway, he was looking for a poor soul to answer the question. It was a simple question really, stating the taxonomic ranks in order. But I'm not so sure if my classmates find it simple. I don't know about them but I have already read this topic over the weekend because I had nothing much to do since Taekwondo lessons over and would resume next year and as one who frequently watches nature documentaries, this was, as riajuus say, "A slice of cake."

 _ ***Hikigaya, I think you mean "A piece of cake."***_

Ah.

Since I already know this lesson, I rested my chin on my right arm and lightly closed my eyes, only opening them if Sensei ever looked in my direction. I'm not really feeling sleepy, but for some reason my eyes felt really dry. Maybe it's from the cold wind outside.

Sensei finally called the name of his victim, the female student stuttered her answers out, which earned some restrained giggles here and there. I caught Yukinoshita lightly glaring at the ones who did, but I doubt the others here noticed it.

Ha! Nothing can escape my [Emperor's Eye]!

Our biology class continued, though I had already read this lesson in advance, I was still intrigued by Sensei's additional information that wasn't found in the textbook. After Biology came Japanese History, Algebra and Japanese Arts and Literature, and then finally, it was lunch time.

I immediately stood up and went about to begin my task in which Hiratsuka-sensei charged me with. Because I was a frequent visitor of the faculty office due to my student council duties and as on of the class representatives of our class, most of the teachers have grown accustomed to seeing me there and some of them even gives me friendly greetings. A few of the teachers started following Hiratsuka-sensei in which they would always pick me for errands. I'm not the only class rep you know!

After my internal rants and complaints, I dutifully did what was commanded like stupid blind obedient dog of the government, now where did I put my State Alchemist pocket watch…? A State Alchemist without the symbol of his rank is a disgrace after all.

I went to the different classes as instructed and left the papers to their class representatives, or in their absence, to ones who were still inside their classrooms. It was lunchtime after all, and I won't blame them if they were buying food. I met, what was his name again…Hayato Hayama, by coincidence when I went to his class to give him the papers. His beta-male man-slaves, who follow him like a desperate young girl eager to make her crush fall in love with her, were absent. Hmm, maybe they are secretly gay…?

"Yo Hikigaya-kun."

"Mm, here's the papers." I held the pile closer to him, which he immediately accepted.

I was about to walk away and spend the remaining time of my precious lunch break at the classroom, but prince charming behind me was still eager to continue the conversation.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

"No."

"Wanna go to the cafeteria? I'll treat you."

An internal alarm sounded in my consciousness, a certain statement that would cause my senses to go berserk, as if I was hit by [Golden Experience]. Only an idiot would refuse food freely offered to him. But this time, the circumstances where vastly different. To accept the offer of a riajuu would be tantamount to betraying my true self, and admitting defeat to his dreaded kind. In essence, should I accept, I would not only be bringing shame upon myself, but to every loner around the world who continue to writhe and struggle in their secret wars against our one true enemy.

"Thank you but I'll pass." I held up both of my hands as a gesture.

"Oh, did you have plans or something?" He further asked.

"You can say that." I say, though I pulled that one straight out of my ass since I would be taking a quick nap and eat at the classroom. I turned around and bade him farewell, but not before he opened his mouth to speak once more.

I arrived at the classroom and slumped back into my chair, I looked around and saw a few other students eating their meals. Yukinoshita was eating with some girls, they formed their chairs into a circle and were chatting away. She looked overwhelmed by the group, even though she wasn't taking part in their conversations. I did see her make an effort to speak up and add her voice her to whatever her companions were talking about, but she lost heart and opted to stay quiet and listen to them.

It was cringy and painful just looking at them, so I did my best in trying to ignore them. I got the melonpan that I bought earlier and started quietly eating away while the voices from the group of girls filled my ears.

It was none of my business after all.

* * *

 _That Time I Got Reincarnated as an Elf!_

 _Being a Mercenary in a Different World is such a pain!_

 _I'm Living With My Gender-Bent Version of Myself?!_

 _A Stupid Truck Driver Hit Me! Now I'm the Dragon of Good Fortune!_

 _Taking Care of The King's Children as The Head Maid sure is Tiring!_

 _The Demon Lord is now my Wife?!_

 _Attending an All-Girls School while Crossdressing as a Girl Because I Lost a bet against my Girlfriend is Harder Than Expected!_

 _My Landlady is a Loli?!_

What the…

What is _this_?

These titles literally want to make me vomit. After classes ended, I went straight to this place so I can look for some Light Novels or Manga, but seeing these disgusting book titles in front of me make me want to reverse time so I never had to come here in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I still believe the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover.", but these titles are just over-the-top and are just plain ridiculous.

I refuse to use my Christmas bonus from Tatsumi-san in buying these abominations!

I quickly turned away from the sight and traveled to another corner of the Light Novels section. This place was near the mall where Tatsumi-san's bookstore was located, and Mom's place was only thirty minutes away by walking. The ramen house where I would sometimes have my lunch during my working hours was near too, the old man and lady there were good folks, they would deliberately put more into my dish whenever I ate there.

I was going to buy an English vocabulary and dictionary book to practice on my reading comprehension on the language, but I decided against it. Even though I have very few English books, there were some words that left me completely dumbfounded so I had to buy a dictionary as a guide. Because of that, it took me more than a month to completely finish one book. After finishing my first English book, I became interested and began to read more, though it took quite a long while for my reading comprehension to improve. Watching documentaries in English with Japanese subtitles helped a lot, you can get and understand some words just by listening. Even now, I still consider myself as a beginner, regardless of my high performance in our basic English classes.

But after my current disappointment at the Light Novels that I saw, maybe I'll change my mind.

With a heavy heart, I moved to the different isles and picked up whatever books that caught my eye.

Lewd Illustration.

Lewd Illustration.

Lewd Illustration.

Lewd- Oh wait…Oh it's still a Lewd Illustration. But this time some guy had his hand on another guy in an indecent position. The first guy had teasing look while the second guy was blushing and seemed to be biting his lip to prevent himself from falling into the forbidden pleasure.

Ok that was too detailed for my liking.

Great, now I'm in the Yaoi section that's the territory of Fujoshis. It would be really bad if someone at my school saw me here, even worse if a blabber mouth Fujoshi sees me here and start a new rumour that I secretly like BL. Its not that new rumours about me would be bothersome, I'm already used to that. Its just that I would like my already low reputation _not_ to get any lower.

I saw some people sitting on the ground reading when I entered since it was normal to do that here. I myself would do that at times, though not in this particular store, however. Most of the ones I saw were Middle-School boys, most likely attracted by the lewd illustrations on the covers of the Light Novels. I couldn't blame them, every guy has a phase similar to that whether they admit it or not.

I turned to the next corner that led to the shojou manga section to see if any manga that's catered towards the female audience would pique my interest. I saw some girls here and there, there was even one lady that looked around 30-years old browsing through the titles.

However, one female that was most likely reading the synopsis of the manga caught my eye, and not in a perverted way.

The one thing that I concurred upon spotting her was that she was a fellow student of Sobu High, and of course, I knew who she was, even with the black beanie that she wore over her head that nearly covered her eyes and the face mask she wore . Her red half-rimmed glasses and shoulder-length hair was a dead giveaway. Though I won't initiate a conversation, of course. That would be very out of character for me. I shrugged and walked past her, still looking for an interesting manga on the shelves.

As I got closer, I saw that the manga that she picked up had some very… _graphic_ and _intimate_ scenes between men, I stopped for a second behind her to make sure that I was not seeing things. Wait, is she drooling _and_ breathing heavily? So she's a _Fujoshi_ after all…

I shook my head and went back to looking at the shelves.

One caught my attention only a few feet away from her, _A Courtesan's Wish_ , it was the story about a young but very talented courtesan who's reputation and beauty was known far and wide. _Many men have sought after her hand, but she refused them all. She was gifted lands, money, jewels and even a seat as the paramour of a powerful Lord and a fleet of ships. But she refused them all._

 _Her last suitor was the Crowned Prince himself, when he asked what exactly she was looking for in a man, she shook her head and had a sad smile adorned on her immaculate face._

" _My dear honoured Prince, mayhaps I will accept your offer, if you would relinquish your crown and show me the world. And maybe, just maybe, I will learn to truly love you." She said in a joking and teasing manner, one that she would always say to all over her suitors, but Prince thought otherwise._

 _In a swift motion, he brought forth his dagger and drew blood from his left hand._

" _I swear upon The Almighty and all of my ancestors." The Prince said with conviction._

 _The Lady was shocked, for he had sworn upon the sacred oath, and no power in the world can undo it. They were now bound to each other whether they liked it or not._

 _And so began their great journey around the world, and adventure filled with friendship, trickery, laughter, pain and what it truly means to love and be loved._

Hmm, this is interesting, I'll get this one. I have a feeling that this is not your usual romantic shojou manga.

"You're gonna get that one?" A muffled female voice from behind me asked.

"Yup." I had already anticipated that she would soon approach me first because I used too much time reading and analyzing the synopsis of the manga that I'm reading.

"Fancy seeing you here, _Hinata-san_." I crane my head towards her.

"You too, Hikigaya-kun." She replied and lowered her face mask showing her lips forming into a small smile.

Girls at school were required to wear thermal leggings for winter and they were also allowed to wear an extra cardigan or jacket over their school uniform. Hinata-san wore a black cardigan over her blazer and a brown scarf around her neck.

"I didn't expect to see you here. No, scratch that. I did not expect to see anyone from the few people that I know at school here." I raised my eyebrow at her.

"If memory serves right, you stated that anime and manga was ridiculous…Yet, I see you in an establishment that sells them?" I put my hand under my chin and started pretending that I had a beard and that I was a detective. This time, I saw her a trail of sweat fall from her forehead slowly travelling down to her eyebrow.

"A-Ah, but I see you here as well." She finally formed a reply though she was having difficulty in meeting my eyes.

"Ara ara, Hinata-san, you are quite wrong. I remember saying that I find those people who dress up as a fictional character and spout nonsense, in an effort to become as close to the real thing as possible, absolutely cringey and annoying. I said nothing about anime and manga." The final nail to her coffin was hammered and I was the who dealt the final blow.

"A-Ack!" Her retort got caught in her throat and she started clearing her throat.

"Well, you got me there…" She looked away while she mindlessly scratched her cheek.

To her insistence, and also because she bribed me into going along with her by buying me food, I followed her to a nearby cafe where we could sit down and new manga that I bought was in my bag, and I was eager to read it right away. I didn't feel like talking though, it hurts my jaw when I do it for long periods of time. Maybe I can just read while she's talking, making eye-contact from time to time and nodding my head to whatever she was talking about. Muttering things like "Ah.", "I see.", "That's crazy.", "Woah." and "Is that so?".

I did that to Mum once, and she hit in annoyance my head as a result.

The cafe that she chose was smaller compared to my Mother's, but had a nice cozy feel to it. There were many books on their shelves as well, most of them looked rugged which meant that it must seen much use over the years. She picked a table farthest away from the entrance, most likely to avoid being seen by any acquaintances of her's.

That it understandable, if I was in her shoes, I'd definitely avoid being seen with a guy who looks like me.

Wait a second…did I just insult myself?

The waiter came to us and asked us what we would like have. I ordered some black tea with a slice of mocha cake while Hinata-san went for a frapuccino. After the waiter went away, I took out the manga and started reading, but then I was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Ahem…" Hinata-san eyed my book with a slightly menacing look that I did not know she was capable of making.

"..." I sighed wordlessly closed it and put it down.

"Say, Hikigaya-kun…" She started after a moment.

"Yes?"

"Have you…ever been bullied?"

The question caught me off guard but I still managed to keep a calm face. I looked at her, but failed to see her eyes since her hair was in the way. I lost my voice and just refused to make eye-contact with her. Even though I mutter my…unsavory experiences in middle-school with jokes and lightheartedness coupled with my usual self-depreciating jests, it still hurts just remembering it.

"I see. I'll take that a yes then." She said after I didn't reply.

"Back in middle-school, I was a pretty normal student in our class. I had good grades and had friends. Nothing special. But then rumours started to pop-up, about me and the things I like. I dismissed them of course, seeing that most of them were exaggerations and stuff like that would soon fade away into nothing after awhile, and they did. But things were different after that time. My friends started treating me differently from before, and…well…" She stopped talking after that.

I stayed quiet, just listening to her.

Why is she telling me this? We're definitely _not_ close, but we're not strangers to each other too.

"You can probably guess what I'm talking about…" She said with a small grin.

I had already guessed what she was talking about though.

"So…you were ridiculed because of your _interests_ , and you wish to make a fresh start in Sobu High by hiding that fact. Now, things are going smoothly though you can't talk to your current friends about your interests so you might feel frustrated _and_ also because you're afraid of repeating the past again. To remedy that, you might have joined groups in social media who have like-minded members such as yourself. When we first met, you hid your name from me, though I honestly don't know why. Oh, and you're wearing that beanie and face mask to hide your identity and to lower the chance of being recognized in public, nice touch by the way."

Her brown eyes widened in surprise, and then she clapped her hands together with an amused smile.

"Amazing! That's the school's top student and member of the student council for you!"

I gave her a deadpan stare with my tired eyes. "Flattery does not work on me, _Hinata-san_."

"Oh you can drop that. My real name is Hina Ebina. I just blurted that out since we were basically strangers to each other when we first met, and I didn't like the idea of a total stranger knowing my name."

"Ah, so I've been calling you a variation of your first name then."

"Yup, does that make you feel entitled?" She said teasingly.

"The opposite in fact, I feel absolutely cursed, upon discovering your Fujoshi tendencies and being the first one to actually know it. Strangely, I feel both cursed and honoured." I say with my words dripping with sarcasm.

She rolled her eyes and said "Hilarious."

It was at that moment that our orders came. I had almost forgotten about them after we started talking.

We spent the rest of the time just having tiny conversations and enjoying our food and drink. Since I didn't feel hungry anymore, I gave my cake to Hina-oh sorry, _Ebina-san,_ to which she happily obliged.

"Now that you know my secret, can you read this and give me your thoughts? I need someone to go over what I wrote." She said suddenly and handed me her phone. I cocked my head to the side in wonder and shrugged my shoulders as I accepted it from her hand.

 _His manly hand gently touched my chest while the other forcefully grabbed me face and lifted it upwards. I lost control over my body after he out something in my water bottle. Since we were the only ones in the men's locker room, I was basically at his mercy._

" _No need to be afraid, Andou-kun." Kensei-senpai whispered to my ear as I felt goosebumps all over my body. Kensei-senpai was always the leanest one in the football club and there was a rumour that he turned down an offer by a modeling agency. He was the quiet type and only spoke when needed. As expected, he's popular with the girls but I don't know if he has a girlfriend._

" _Lets be friends, shall we?~" I felt his hot breath near my ear as he began to gently nibble on my earlobe._

That was all I could take before I stiffly and slowly put the phone down, as if it was a NOVA Bomb from Halo.

If I had one wish, I wanted to erase this particular memory from my brain.

Ebina-san, watching my internal horror and despair began giggling uncontrollably to the point that tears where coming out of her eyes. "Very hilarious, _Ebina Hina-san_. Very hilarious indeed." I say through my narrowed slits.

After a while, I received a call from Mom, to which I excused myself from the table and asked me where I was. I told her my location so she can pick me up. When I came back, Ebina-san had paid for our orders and was waiting for me to arrive so we can exit together.

"My Mom is going to pick me up."

"Alright, I'm going to take the train home. Oh, before I forget." She stood in front of me and put her fist out.

"Thanks." She said.

"Hmm." I had to internally roll my eyes at this riajuu-like gesture. I gave her a nod and was about to return her fist bump but God deliberately lowered my IQ at that moment. Instead of forming a fist, I opened my palm and ended up holding her fist instead.

"Eh?"

"Oh."

What is this? Janken Pon?

Her face instantly morphed into a laughing one. "You idiot! Hahahaha!" She laughed. I had to look down and cover my face with my left hand with a mixture of embarrassment and self-shame to escape from the cringe. While doing so, I had to suppress a smile and a laugh from escaping by pursing my lips together. Now I'm a puffer-fish.

"This is why I hate hand greetings that require physical contact. Stuff like this always happens." I say while trying not to laugh as I watched Ebina-san finally calm down.

"Lets just bow damnit." To which she nodded in agreement. We bowed together and didn't mess up, thankfully.

"See around at school tomorrow, and don't tell anyone about my secret, ok?" She said and put her finger on her lips with an amused look.

"Yes yes, your little secret is safe with me. Goodbye." I replied and gave her a wave, to which she returned one of her own.

The Fujoshi turned around and disappeared into the crowds behind her, while I waited for my Mother to pick me up in this cold weather.

"Hot pot sounds nice…" I mutter and stared mentally listing down the ingredients needed to make the dish.

* * *

Tomorrow is the winter break, only several hours to go and I can finally binge watch all the shows that I have been listing down these past few weeks. The shojou manga that I bought the around two weeks ago was really good and made me more interested in the genre itself. Also, I've been itching to buy a new gunpla model for some reason, so I have to to to Akihabara where there were many shops to choose from.

Everyone in class looked more lively, and by lively I meant more noisier which obviously irked me. As the day went by, I could hear occasional groans as they went through the homework given for us to work on during the winter break. I was not bothered, mind you. I had already made up my mind to finish everything by tomorrow so I can have more time to myself for the next few days or so.

I used to procrastinate frequently back in middle-school, but now I removed that bad habit of mine.

Because it was pretty cold on roof, I had to stay at the cafeteria to eat my lunch which was curry. While I was eating alone on a vacant table, I overheard some chatter from my fellow students at the next table. Mainly about their hang-out plans with their friends and family when we are temporarily set free from our the chains that bind us to this school. I'm guessing that its just me and Komachi at home during the days, assuming that my little sister has no plans with her friends. Mom usually arrives at around 10:00pm and Dad sometime after that, and I'm already asleep by that time anyway.

To pass the time while I was waiting for them to arrive, I would just play on the sofa with Kamakura, or watch something amusing on my phone. When my eyes began to feel too heavy, I would message them in advance that I would be sleeping.

Since I was usually the first one to wake up in the morning, it falls upon my shoulders to prepare the food for everyone in the Hikigaya household.

Once classes ended, my classmates started giving each other goodbyes and agreements to meet in the next few days. As class rep, I had to remind everyone to do their homework over the break, to which they responded "Haaaaaiiiii~". Once that was done, I picked up my bag and started to walk out of the classroom, eager to go home and take nap since it was Komachi's turn to cook tonight. Well, when she cooks, I have to take the reins 80% of the time and even with the remaining 20% I have to watch closely behind her to make sure she's doing fine.

It was as if the cold air greeted me with a kiss to the cheek when I stepped outside and I had to narrow my eyes since the air stung. As I was walking on the pavement slightly covered with snow, I saw a female black cat as I was walking, its shiny black fur was covered in light snow. Oh, a black cat! Lucky lucky! I kneeled down in front of it and stretched out my hand. She gave me a curious look before smelling and rubbing herself into my hand. The little feline gave sounds as I scratched the back of it's ears and below the chin, areas where Kamakura liked to get scratched when he was still a kitten. I gave her one last rub on the head before meowing to her and standing up to continue my walk home.

"Mama, look, Onii-san just meowed at that black cat." Said a little boy accompanied by his mother when they were withing earshot.

"Don't point! That's rude!" The mother gently slapped her son's hand away when she caught him pointing at me. She bowed her head in apology while I just nodded my head when we walked past each other. "Meow meow!" I looked behind and saw the little boy meowing at the cat while his mother just watched from the side.

When I got home, Komachi was already there and changed into warm pants and a white sweater that looked awfully familiar.

"Welcome home Onii-chan!" She then gave a me a mandatory welcome-hug after I took off my jacket. As her arms wrapped around my waist, I used my hand to grab the small portion of the sweater directly behind her neck and twist it so I can see the those little detailed information written that had the size of the shirt and from where it was manufactured.

"Hoh, so this is mine." I say upon confirmation.

"Oi! Pervert!"

After she let go of me, she ran upstairs and quickly came back with a box that was wrapped with Christmasy designs. Wait, is Christmasy even a word…?

"I got this from my friend today!" She proudly exclaimed as she puffed out her chest and put her hands on her waist.

"Ah. Is this supposed to make me feel impressed…? Because its not working." I say as I examined the small box and shaking it to hear it's contents, to which yelped in alarm, saying that whatever inside might be easily broken.

"So, did you get a gift from someone at school?" She asked.

"None." I say not a heartbeat too soon. When I said that, she visibly winced in pain at my words.

I'm not bothered by trivial stuff like that. I have never received a single gift given to me at school in my life after all, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't like seeing anyone in pain for my sake, especially if that someone was a family member.

"Good grief I already have my gift."

"Really? Where?"

"I have you, the greatest, cutest and most caring little sister in the world." I say with a small smile.

"Kyaaahhh! Onii-chan you're gonna make Komachi fall for you even harder!" She said as she held her hands to her cheeks and started hopping up and down while having a bright blush on her cheeks and steam going out of her ears.

It was at the moment that I had to give out a laugh, something that I rarely do. When I did so, I felt all of my stress and worries crumble away into nothingness.

Truly, your family is the greatest and most precious gift that you have.

* * *

 ** _Hi Everyone! Merry Christmas to all of my dear readers around the world!_**

 ** _Ugh...I know I'm late by 2 days so please forgive me..._**

 ** _What nonsense should I utter this time..._**

 ** _Oh yeah, this was supposed to be posted at around the 2nd week of December, the time that I went back to my home country after visiting my relatives in Australia. While I was there I already had a solid story in mind, but as you expected, I deleted everything and restarted from scratch again. This happens about 2 to 3 times in-between chapter releases, by the way. I finally managed to think of the story for this chapter after several days of no inspiration, and I finally had the spark of brilliance just days ago._**

 ** _Maybe I'll release an extra chapter before the 1st of January if I feel like it, let me know if you want one and I'll see what I can do._**

 ** _As always, thank you very much for reading HHPTR (Hikigaya Hachiman's Path To Reformation) and stay tuned for the next chapter! Don't forget to drop a review so I can know your thoughts and you can also PM me for suggestions!_**

 ** _Ivanov117 here saying Feliz Navidad(Merry Christmas)!_**


	17. Christmas Day with the Family

There's a baby beside me on the train today. It's cheeks are so pudgy and had wide eyes the entire time. Since the baby was wearing her own jacket, she looked even more pudgy to look at. Her young brown-haired mother was quietly talking to someone on her left side while her baby was on her right arm looking at me with wonder. Staring into the very depths of my soul. Drool was also dripping from it's mouth and when the little thing yawned, she had still had no teeth.

Why do babies keep staring, I wonder…?

A darker voice in the back of my head suggested that babies can see spirits and ghosts. And the reason why they keep staring at you, is because one is right behind you. I looked behind me to see if there's anything there. There was none of course, but who knows? Maybe I was just a breath away from the ghost behind me.

Anyway, the baby was amused, just staring at me and all, and began smiling and reaching towards me. Her tiny hands grabbed my black jacket and tried pulling herself to me.

"Onii-chan look, that baby likes you." Komachi whispered to my right ear.

"So it seems…" I said as I continued watching the baby in it's futile effort.

The baby's eyes turned to my hand and reached for it. Her tiny hand wrapped around my pinky and once again tried to move it to her. Realizing that her efforts were still in vain, she was about to sniffle and cry but then I decided to just let her to whatever she wanted to do with my hand and just held it in front of her.

Her tiny hands held my pinky and thumb and then started to move them together. The action seemed to be the most hilarious thing to this tiny human since she started to laugh and squeal. But then she started to draw my finger to her mouth to bite into it, such is the nature of babies. I'm guessing this baby is around 6-7 months old since that's the time they usually start teething. I retracted my hand and started poking her cheeks to amuse her.

Her mother noticed us and initiated a conversation after we introduced ourselves. She said that they were going to Narita Airport to welcome her husband home after two weeks away because of work. Apparently, her husband's Boss was a generous and kind man who took his employees for a vacation since its December after all. That must be nice, having a boss like that, oh wait, Tatsumi-san is generous and kind too. I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Boss! I spoke with her out of courtesy of course, and because I'm better at holding conversations with adults rather than people my age.

"Your baby is very cute and healthy." Komachi finally said something since she was just quietly listening the entire time.

"Thank you! She might not look like it but this little bundle of joy can wake up the whole apartment complex with her cries!" I took that literally and started thinking deeply if that was indeed actually possible.

I gave a small laugh as I imagined the scenario in my head.

They got off on the next stop where they would take the bus headed to the airport. We waved our goodbyes and Christmas greetings as the door to the train closed between us. Ah, the baby was really cute, I wish I could have held her…

* * *

Mom and Dad were at home just relaxing, I wager Dad is still sleeping at this hour. Its still early though, its still 9am so we can go back home as soon as possible. We agreed to meet at the entrance in 3 hours time, more than enough to buy everything we need and hurry back home before the crowds for the train swell to maximum.

I watched my little sister disappear from my vision on her way to buy her own presents. Sighing, I took off my black gloves and put them in the interior pocket of my likewise black jacket.

My first task was the gift for my Mother. I had already ordered it from the store's website earlier this week and was ready for pickup today. I personally went to one of their branches near Mother's place, but when I went there during the other day to purchase it, they were out of stock and referred me to one of their other branches. I arrived at the store in no time and after verifying the authorization details and other trivialities, I received the gift already neatly wrapped.

MISSION PASSED RESPECT+

Now, for my Father's…

This time, I went to the Men's part of the department store to look for anything that caught my attention. Sadly, after circling the entire area thrice, nothing came to mind. Even after I scanned the clothes on display and carefully analyzed each shoe from the leather outside to it's sturdiness, absolutely nothing made me sparked the desire within me.

Something good, utility-wise…it has to be something that Father uses all the time, or something that can improve his work performance. A thing that can help him at work…

From the public seat that I was occupying, I stood up so fast that the guy beside me gave a very unmanly and startled yelp. I made a beeline to the gadgets section of the mall and instantly went to those stores that sold that item that I was thinking about. After several minutes of looking at their displays, and reading each product's features as well as handling it to see it's weight and practicality, and of course, the price. I chose one specific product model and went to the different stores to see if everyone else sold it at the same price.

I finally found a store that had freebies with each purchase and bought a utility accessory together with it. I swiped and paid for it with my debit card and requested the employees there to have it wrapped as a gift. I grunted to myself in satisfaction after personally checking my remaining balance at my card's closest bank. My parents regularly deposit my allowance into my account. Plus my monthly pay from working part-time, also with the fact that I am a huge cheapskate who only buys out of necessity, I can say without a doubt that I still had a sizeable sum all in all.

For Komachi, I returned to the department store and went to the women's section to buy her a new and warmer jacket. Komachi told me during the other day that she would usually wear a double layer when she went to school because her jacket wasn't warm enough. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to buy her as a present. It felt awkward scanning garments for women in this particular section, seeing that I'm a male and all. On the few times that my Mother dragged me with her to buy some new clothes, I would always wait on the border of the women's section. I was not alone however, and my fellow males who were with their female companions also waited with me in that area.

I finally found one that was just the right size for my small Imotou. The outside was leather as to prevent any cold breezes and the inside was warm mainly due to the fur linings it had. The collars were nonexistent, but a simple scarf around the neck will do the trick.

With my parent's presents held by my left hand, and Komachi's on my right, I made my way back to our rendezvous point with 30 minutes left to spare.

* * *

"Welcome home. Oh, Haa-chan you really went all out huh...~" Mother commented when we arrived and saw the stuff that I was carrying. After we removed our shoes and changed into indoor slippers we placed our stuff on the small table in the living room.

"We're home." We said in unison.

"Ah, Hachiman, Komachi, you're home. I was about to go out and pick you up." My Father voice from upstairs rang. After we took off our jackets, Komachi skipped over to the kitchen to help out Mom. While I stretched my body over the sofa and felt numerous joints all over my body pop in satisfaction. Kamakura jumped onto my chest from out of nowhere and started licking my head.

"Meow…" He purred.

"Yes yes I'm glad to see you too buddy…" I ran my hand through his warm soft body and got a purr of satisfaction as a result.

I heard my Father's footsteps down the stairs, and shortly saw him sit at his new leather sofa he ordered a few days ago. He switched on the T.V. and started watching the news.

"Hoh…the snow is quite heavy in Hokkaido…" I muttered when they showed a neighborhood there that was already filled with 2 feet of snow.

"Ah, yes. Snowfall was already heavy when I was there a few weeks ago. How were the gloves that I sent in the package? Were they good?" My Father asked.

The package that he sent actually contained a series of winter apparel prototypes that he and his associate were spearheading that was planned to be opened in Hokkaido.

"They were nice and comfy. I especially liked the black and dark-brown one." I replied. The former was the one that I used when I went out with Komachi.

After a few minutes, dinner was ready and we went to the table to eat. Dinner was composed of fried chicken, Japanese-style burger steak, deep fried breaded pork, smoked and grilled salmon, some frozen vegetables, king crab, caesar salad with boiled egg on top, scallops, miso soup, rice and green tea. Though I had to give the salad a weird look, since its the first time I saw caesar salad with boiled eggs…Oh and the curry from last night.

The first thing I ate was the king crab, I had to crack open it's legs with a scissor-like tool to gain access to the soft flesh inside. After that, I slowly ate small morsels of everything. The scallops were excellent with a small amount of vinegar and a dash of salt. I tried grilling it on the electric grill on the table, but it still tasted better raw. The salmon was great if eaten with miso soup and rice, though my little sister beside me was totally ignoring the seafood and grabbing meat left and right.

When everyone was finished, Komachi and Mom put away the plates and put the leftovers in the fridge and Dad went to the bathroom to take a bath.

I took my jacket and gloves put it on once more and changed into my outdoor footwear.

"Haa-chan? Where are you going?" Mom asked me when she caught sight of me.

"I'm just going to take a walk outside." Even though it's below 2 degrees Celsius outdoors, taking a short walk was always good after such a large dinner such as this.

After being told to to be careful and come home soon, I opened the door and went outside. Watching the snowflakes fall from the sky was peaceful. The sky itself had and undertone of red reflected from the cities on the ground. I walked through the ground, my feet making crunching sounds as it made contact with the patches of snow. A sudden cold breeze made me instinctively put my hands into my jacket's pockets. I had no destination in mind, and I would walk until my stomach felt better. No other soul was walking outside, the streets before me were basically mine.

Walking like this and having no one else but yourself has always been comforting. It's very refreshing having some quiet time alone, your head is clear and your emotions are relaxed. Whenever I'm feeling stressed and irksome for some reason, walking around like this always seems to calm me down.

If there was a frozen lake nearby and attracted a lot of ice skaters, I would have loved to hang around there. But unfortunately, this isn't St. Petersburg, the former Imperial Capital of Russia, where they have many frozen lakes and rivers fit for ice skating.

As I passed around a corner, the lamp above me had a mirror, and I saw myself leer at my reflection with a grumpy face. Woah, did I always look like that? I look like a thug, no wonder people look at me with apprehension on the street, in those rare occasions that they actually had the balls to look at me in the eye, that is. It was maybe 200 meters from my house that I felt my stomach pain subside. Since I usually walk fast, the distance was nothing, and I began walking back home at a faster pace.

I came home and found everyone sitting at the living room watching T.V. After a few moments of me taking off my jacket and shoes, I joined my family to start the exchange of presents. I was seated beside Komachi and our parents were on the other side while the presents were on the table in between us.

Komachi received a pillow from Mom and new shoes from Dad, while her gift to Mom was a coffee mug with a big heart and a wallet for Dad. When Dad asked why she gave him a wallet, she replied _"Because your wallet smells really gross!"_ , to which Mom started laughing and Dad vehemently denying the stench and insisting that Komachi smell the wallet to prove his statement. Needless to say, Komachi reeled back in terror and hid behind me. Tch, that pillow looks super soft and comfy…I'm gonna steal it! I gave my first gift to Mom and eagerly watched her examine the gift with it's wrapping still covering it.

"Ara ara, what could this be~?" Mom said in a singsong tone. She got hold of the wrappings and tore it to shreds, a bit too fast there Mom, a bit too excited are we?

"Oh!" My Mother exclaimed in surprise and joy and stood up,hugged kissed me on the cheek. Even though I was confident in keeping my face stoic as possible, my Father's smirking face made me lose cool and I felt a blush on my cheeks from the embarrassment.

"It's the perfume that I always wanted!" We went to that store some time ago, and she was still having double thoughts on whether to buy it or not. Even though I was not a fan of perfume, I would get a headache and feel nauseous if the scent was too strong, I took note of it's appearance and would secretly sneak into my parent's room to see if she had bought it yet. Thankfully, she didn't.

"Thanks Haa-chan!" She let go of me and returned to sitting on the sofa.

I gave my Father his present, and, like Mom, he examined it's exterior before opening it.

"Wooow!" Komachi exclaimed in amazement followed by a "Hoh…" from my Mother as she eyed me with a small smile.

My Father removed the top cover of the box to reveal the tablet inside, along with a bluetooth keyboard to complement it. It had a 10.5-inch display and was coloured steely gray. I'll admit that this was a bit expensive, but I honestly didn't mind.

"This is a wonderful gift, thank you Hachi." My Father rarely addresses me with my nickname, he must be really elated if he's using it now. Komachi and Mom huddled together as they observed the tablet with interest and waited for it to boot up. I couldn't help suppress my smug grin as I waited for them to see the surprise.

"You're laptop is old and heavy, the future is now!" I proclaimed, to which my Mother and Father laughed.

When it finally turned on, Mom was the first one to give out a reaction she started laughing her heart out while Komachi was squealing. What the heck is with that reaction? Are you a pig? Oink oink oink.

Before the present was wrapped, I personally did some editing. One of them was making the wallpaper a photo of our entire family. My parents still looked the same in the photo, both of them were handsome and beautiful as if they have stopped aging when that photo was taken. I was 7 years old in the photo while Komachi was still 4 years old. My Mother was 24 when I was born, my Father 25, quite young in this country's standards. In the photo I held Komachi's hand with a big smile while she had a funny goofy look on her face as she stared at the camera.

"AAAHHH! ONII-CHAN WHY DID YOU PICK THIS PHOTO! IT'S SO EMBARASSING TO LOOK AT." Komachi went over to me and started shaking my shoulders. Mom told her to calm down before her shaking became too violent that it would decapitate my head and send it flying.

After everyone calmed down, it was Komachi's turn to receive her gift. When she opened it, she was delighted to see the jacket that I bought for her and immediately tried it on. I sighed in relief when I saw that it was just the right size for her.

"Thanks Onii-chan!"

"You're quite welcome." I replied cooly.

It was Mom's turn to give her presents, and since she already gave Komachi her's, it was me and Dad's turn. Dad received a pair of premium-leather gloves while I received a pair of 5 kg barbels. Nice, I was thinking of buying one. Well, these are a tad bit too heavy for me, but I'm sure I'll get used to it in after continued usage. Thank you for the wonderful gift, Okaa-sama!

"You're always jogging and working out in your room during the weekends, so I thought barbels for you would be a nice!" My Mother said.

"Thanks Mom." I say as I put them down. I was right, these _are_ too heavy for a beginner like me. If I use these, I'll definitely end up hurting myself like a stupid newbie in a gym, the typical ones you always see during the 1st week of January. I mainly do leg and lower abdomen exercises and have never lifted weights before. And since starting Taekwondo under Tatsumi-sensei's wing emphasizes on high-speed kicks and other leg strikes, well, let's just say that my arms are still scrawny. Well, there's always a first for everything as they say. Komachi gave me a book lamp, which I greatly appreciated and always wanted. As for Dad, he gave Mom a white slim-fitting long-sleeved cotton shirt that was also one of his prototypes from Hokkaido.

And finally, it was my turn. I wonder what he got me this time?

"Just a moment…" He excused himself and went upstairs. Huh? I turned to Komachi but she was engrossed in my Father's new tablet while Mother was whistling and refusing to make eye-contact with me. I gave her a impassive look while sweat started to fall from her forehead.

Hmm…how suspicious…

"Here we go…" I hear my Father's voice before I saw him. From the strain in his tone, he must be carrying something heavy or struggling at least. When we finally saw him, he was carrying a long flat rectangular box that he didn't even bother covering with wrapping. Not that the wrapping would help hid it's contents anyway, I could have correctly guessed what it was even if it _was_ covered with a gift wrapping.

It was a silver high-tech looking electronic piano, similar to the ones usually on display at the front of musical instrument stores. Thanks to my skills honed in gunpla assemblage, the different parts came together and soon looked exactly like the one in the assembling guide. We put it beside the wall so it wouldn't get in the way. The piano also had a book for beginners, even though the designs on it looked a bit too cartoony and childish…

Well, I've only touched a piano a few times in my life at school, so I had no idea what those buttons meant.

"This looks nice. Thank Dad." I say

"I know that its a bit late but I always wanted you to know an instrument or two when you were younger." He said as scratched his head.

I imagined a younger version of myself playing the piano. With constant practice and determination, I could have become very skilled at my current age. Well, that's just my imagination anyway, this isn't an anime where playing the piano was literally pounded into my very being at a very young age after all. That, along with the expectations of my parents, teachers and anyone else relevant enough to be mentioned, would cause a massive amount of stress to a growing child. Inevitably, at my grandest public performance, watched by hundreds of people, I would have a mental breakdown as a result. After that, I would disappear from the public eye for several years, my name never forgotten, but made as an example of a terrible and possible outcome.

 _ ***Hikigaya, that was WAY too depressing. That went downhill faster then Napoleon's Grande Armee after their catastrophic invasion of Russia!***_

Ah, my depressing internal monologues are surfacing…

"Well, there's a first in everything I guess…" I say as I slumped myself back on the sofa.

And so ended our simple, yet fun celebration of Christmas.

* * *

 _ **Well, there you have it. I hope this was a satisfying read for everyone, I had to go super saiyan, Bankai, Dragon Force, Jinchuriki-mode, Plus Ultra, The Zone, Gear 4th, sacrifice my sanity and humanity to become a lvl 45 Edge Lord and whatever OP moves and modes out there to finish this.**_

 _ **Feliz Año** **nuevo (Happy New Year) to everyone!**_


	18. A Friend?

Sometimes, I don't understand what the Head of The Disciplinary Committee is supposed to do. Am I a security organization? A punishment team? From what I've been doing since taking up the position, the meaning had become unclear. I have the authority to send students to the principal should it be needed, but I had yet to use that Command Spell of mine. As a Master, the value of Command Spells cannot be underestimated, they can turn the tide of battle in your favor.

I don't stalk the hallways looking for students skipping their classes like what you see in some anime. Seriously, who does that? That's such a waste of time and energy, practically speaking.

But what I'm doing right now, is just typical Student Council stuff. Which basically means, paperwork, bulletin board posts, requests from the clubs, etc.

"That's enough, Hikigaya-kun. Let's go home." Shiromeguri-senpai came over and put her hands on my shoulders, then she proceeded to massage them. It's become of a habit for her to do this when I'm working. I was surprised when she did this the first time, and I recall shrieking in terror in a high-pitched voice. But in time, I became accustomed to her touch, and I can feel my body relaxing whenever she did it.

Wait, was I conditioned to immediately feel relaxed at the moment that her hand touches me?

Am I the test subject of an experiment, conducted by Ivan Pavlov?

"You've been tense all day, is something on your mind, Hikigaya-kun?" Her voice was soft, like a mother caring for her child. Her fingers slowly going up and went through my hair, the feeling soothing and relaxing my soul to the core.

"No, nothing's wrong Senpai...I just feel, tired...that's all." After a moment, her movements stopped, and I slowly got up and went for my bag.

"Don't overwork yourself, Hikigaya-kun. You don't have to force yourself if you can't do it." She said.

"Yeah..." I nodded at her and saw that her eyes filled with worry.

We exited the room together and locked it shut. Shiromeguri-senpai has the key, but I duplicated one for myself too. Classes ended an hour ago and most of the students already went home, seeing that it was cold outside and all. Father was currently in The Netherlands right now, personally overseeing the ship that he had commissioned several months ago. Since it was his first time visiting a European country, he was quite excited for the trip more than usual. It was just him and a few of the top brass of his subsidiary company, I think they were only around seven of them.

I honestly don't know the extent of my Father's work, and how far it had reached since it started. I was asked a few times by some of my friendly teachers out of curiosity. I was surprised at first, but we Humans are curious by nature. They asked what my parent's work was. Mother was a business owner, but I didn't know what to respond when I was asked about my Father.

So I just say that he was a "Corporate Worker", which wasn't entirely wrong, in the broader sense of the word...

"It sure is chilly, isn't it, Hikigaya-kun?" Shiromeguri-senpai chimed a few moments after we exited the school building. From the corner of my eye, I can see her breath transform into a small white cloud before disappearing. It's true, sometimes, January is even more colder than December.

"Yeah." I say back.

"An onsen sounds good..." She said and closed her eyes, as if imagining that she was in one right now. My thoughts became lewd once my mind wandered off on its own, and I had to use all my willpower not to mentally create an accurate visualization.

"Careful Senpai, you're sounding like an old lady." I lightly teased.

"Oh, I do, don't I?" She giggled at her reply as we continued walking to the school gate.

After exchanging farewells, I started walking towards home. Nothing notable happened in the next few minutes and I was startled when someone called my name.

"Hachi!"

Hmm, that's my Mother's voice...

I turn around and saw across the street, her head outside the car and waving at me. I crossed the street after checking for cars and jogged over to her. I opened the front door to the front seat and hopped in.

"I've been calling you all day!" She said and started the car.

"Ah, have you now? Well, I left my phone at home." I say and stare blankly outside.

"Goodness, you should always keep your phone with you at all times in case an emergency happens, God forbid."

"It won't happen again." I reply. I left my phone since I was in a hurry this morning, since Mother was the one cooking, I slept like a log and she managed to wake me up an hour before my first class. After inhaling the food that she prepared, I think I ate too much, I showered quickly and made it to school in time.

Mother has been more at home doing Mom-things lately, she would often do it when Dad is away or overseas. Komachi and I would sometimes go to Mother's cafe to help out after class, and after closing time, we would eat outside at a nearby restaurant. Though if I pester them enough, they'll change their mind eventually.

"Oh, I was at the Parent's and Teacher's Meeting last weekend." Mom said.

"The teachers are very impressed with your performance at class, Hachi. They spoke so highly of you, and how "You were a model student." in their eyes. Hiratsuka-sensei in particular said that you were very diligent and trustworthy as a member of the Student Council and as the Class Representative. You seem to have a lot on your plate this school year, Hachi. I'm happy that you're trying out new stuff." She continued.

Hmph, maybe their lot is the easily-impressed-type. Beats me, I was never born nor raised to be a trouble-maker after all. Never, in my life have I been punished at school for bad behavior at school. I mean, with my menacing eyes and a delinquent attitude, I would most likely grow up to become a level 100 Gang-STAR.

"But," she added, "they observed that you were a little too independent for your own good. They also said that you barely socialized with your classmates and during group presentations, you would personally ask the teacher if you can go alone..." My Mother's voice trailed off.

"Ah, well they're not wrong." I simply state.

"Tell me, really, are you ok?" She stopped the vehicle and turned to me with worried, yet serious eyes. It's been a long time since my Mother looked at me that way.

Wait, that last part sounded wrong...

"Yes, I'm fine." I reply with a straight face, though a voice at the depths of my consciousness thought the opposite. I'm not sure if I was being honest with myself, but what I am sure of right now, is that I am still hanging on.

"..."

"..."

"Well, if you say so." She started the engine again. I gulped unconsciously, something that I never do.

My thoughts, with the already cold weather outside, made me all the more colder for some reason. I soon felt my eyelids close after such a tiring day.

* * *

Watching snowflakes fall from the sky is peaceful. So slow, yet elegant tiny frozen statues created by the sky. Its just the 2nd day after the end of winter break, but now I'm already missing my bed. After submitting our homework that we did during the winter break, I quickly escaped the classroom for fear that I would be once again called to assist our teacher as the class rep or some lame excuse like that.

It's time for Yukinoshita to pull her own weight too damnit!

With a steaming cup of tea on my hand that I got from my portable thermos, I lifted it to my lips to warm my body up. Oh yeah, that hits the spot...

After several minutes of drinking tea and staring off into the distance with an empty mind, I got up from the cold floor and went down the stairs to go back to class. When I checked the time, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I still had plenty of time to spare, so I went to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

There were a lot of students eating, but I managed to find an isolated table away from the main area. From there, I munched on my sandwich as I silently observed the people around me.

Shortly after I took a seat, I spotted Miura-san with her friends and hoped that she won't come over to me since I wanted some alone time.

From her body language itself, she walked with confidence, emitting the unmistakable alpha-female aura, as she led her pack from the front. I always knew that she was a riajuu, but I didn't think that she had a pack at her beck and call. They sat quite a distance from me, but still remained within my field of vision.

Another blondie caught my eye, but it was not Gilgamesh nor Naruto, but Hayamo Hayata.

 ** _*Umm, Hikigaya? I think you meant Hayato Hayama.*_**

Oh, yes. Of course.

Hayato Hayama, led his own pack and settled on the table near Miura-san's. He was the alpha male, to be sure. And after his companions sat down, he went to order his own food. He soon came back with a tray with what it seems to be mochi with ice cream on the inside. Damn that looks good, the _food_ I mean! Not him!

Thank God my internal monologues are...internal. If Ebina-san had heard them...I would have to block her nostrils to stop the flow of blood coming out of them...

A long silvery blue ponytail caught my attention. She was holding a tray with food while looking around for a place to take a seat, her head going this way and that. I watched her movements, she turned to my direction, and with a small smile, she started walking over to me.

"Good Noon, Kawasaki." I greeted her and raised my hand when she got close enough.

"Hi, Hikigaya. Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, and I said go ahead. She did a sigh of relief and finally sat down. My eyes lingered a bit on her long silky hair as she sat down in front of me. For lunch, she had some cup ramen noodles and vegetable gyoza, paired with green tea.

"How've you been? I haven't seen you or Komachi in a while." She said.

"Same old same old. I usually don't go out during winter break, but I decided to help out Mom at her cafe." I say as I took small bites from my sandwich.

"Aahh..." She also began eating, since the both of us had our mouths full, our conversation halted there for a while. But the atmosphere was not an awkward silence, mind you. Kawasaki is an introverted soul, like myself. So things like these are pretty normal. But our eyes met once or twice when we were silently eating, and I had to look away to not get embarrassed.

I finished first, and whenever her eyes weren't looking at my direction, I would just stare blankly at her as she continued eating. I was about to pull out my phone, but I deemed it too rude and inappropriate to use it on the table while someone is eating.

"Hey, is there something on my face?" She asked as she wrinkled her nose as she looked at me. Oh no, she caught me staring.

"Nothing." I shrugged and tried to play it off coolly.

"Really?" Her left eyebrow arched upwards in doubt at my response.

"Yes, really." I say back.

"Hmph, ok then." She said and stayed quiet after that. What am I supposed to do now? Should I continue the conversation? If neither of us talk, we're literally just staring at each other or avoiding eye-contact while whistling or something along those lines.

"O-Oh, Hikigaya, are you busy this weekend?" She asked.

"Um, it depends, I'm always busy. Why?" I say back.

"Oh, well, its been a while since Keika came over to your house and all, and she misses you and Komachi." She said.

I shrugged. "You're always welcome at home to hang out, I'm sure Komachi would like having some company, and you already met my parents too."

"Wanna hang out at our house?" She blurted out suddenly.

"Um..." I was at a loss of words since I didn't anticipate such a question to be directed at a person such as myself.

 ** _*whoosh Flashback time*_**

Ever since I was a kid, I was never invited into a classmate's house. Some of the boys would make plans that only included themselves and ignored my poor self. Not even a single sleepover invitation was offered to me in my childhood days. So, whenever I could hear one of my classmates make plans about a sleepover party, I would either go outside or just lay on my desk and pretend that I am asleep.

"S-Since we always go to your house, maybe its time for you to come to our's too...?" She added with uncertainty at her own words.

"Well, I can see what you mean..." I say while scratching my cheek. So it's like an...equivalent exchange...?

"Dad is away, and I already promised to help out Mom at her Cafe, and I also have lessons during weekends, so..." I continued.

"O-Oh..."

"But if I am free, then I'll tell you as soon as possible." I say quickly, thinking of a sad Kei-chan made me change my mind. Tch, I am still a pushover when it comes to things like these...

"That's great. What lessons are you taking during weekends?" She asked once more.

"Taekwondo." Her eyebrows arched upwards at my reply.

"I didn't see that coming, I thought you meant tutorials or cram school or something."

"Nah, I've never been tutored in all my life, I just study by myself." I say back. Tutorials and cram school can be expensive y'know, and if I'm taking the latter, then its a bit too ambitious because its still my first year in high-school.

She nodded to herself and sported a thoughtful look on her face. "How long have you been doing it?"

"A few months."

"Hoooh, so can you break someone's neck?" She jokingly asked with a small grin.

"I don't know, but if I tried really hard, I might be able to do it." Upon my reply, she made a horrified expression and I quickly explained to her that I was simply jesting.

"You should have joined the school's taekwondo club then." She suggested.

I made a pained expression at the thought.

Club activities, Student Council duties, part-time job and taekwondo lessons during weekends, household work and helping out Mom would be too much for me. I'll surely go insane from that workload and get sent to a mental asylum.

"That's too much...even for me." I reply.

After a moment, she understood what I meant and slowly nodded with a look of understanding.

"Wanna go home together later?" She said and looked her watch to tell the time. I discreetly imitated her and saw that it was only a few minutes left until classes resumed once more.

"Yeah sure. But I'll have to swing by the library later to borrow a book."

"Oh, what a coincidence, I was about to do that too."

"Ah, I see. So where is our rendezvous?" I asked.

She blinked twice with a confused look on her face. "What?"

"Our rendezvous, where is it?" I reply back.

"Rendez...huh?" She said with a dumbfounded expression and knitted her brows together. Oh, she must be unfamiliar with the word...

"Our meeting point." I say in Layman's terms.

"Oh! Uhh, is here ok?"

"Ok." With that, we stood up and I accompanied her to return the used utensils. Then we started walking to the exit to go to our respective rooms. Some students where already getting up, but a few were still staying in their tables and chatting. Miura-san called out and waved to me, to which I lazily returned with my own.

"Hikio!" She called me with a grin, and her companions gave me a curious look and then resumed to talking to each other. Kawasaki raised a brow and gave me a questioning look, but it was as if the Three Fates themselves have sewn my mouth shut.

Hayato Hayama was still there too,and I did not fail to observe that Miura-san closely eyed Him with a neutral expression.

"What language did the word you used earlier come from anyway?" Kawasaki asked beside me.

"I dunno." I shrugged and replied with a small smirk.

"Tch, smartass." With her free hand, she lightly hit my shoulder. It was just a playful act and made me smile a bit.

Oh no, I'm becoming a masochist.

"Ow."

* * *

"Ah! Finally we're done! Thank you again, you were a big help." Hiratsuka-sensei said as she stretched out her arms upwards, some of her joints making popping sounds. The action caused her sizeable chest to move and her shirt to tighten around them. The sight caused me a slight pang of jealousy.

"Though we would have finished this sooner had Hikigaya been here, he's pretty fast when it comes to paperwork." She added.

"Hmm." I reply. After classes, Hikigaya-kun had approached Sensei beforehand and informed her of some things that he urgently needed to do at the Student Council Office. After speaking to Sensei, he gave me a nod of acknowledgement and went on his way before I could return one of my own. After that, Sensei approached me and stated that she needed my help with compiling the class notes that she would be giving out tomorrow.

"What did you do during your winter break?" Sensei asked as she rested her chin on her hand and faced me.

"Family matters, Sensei." I reply. My Father hosted a Christmas and Thanksgiving party for another successful new year, and invited many of his business associates and acquaintances. Hikigaya-kun and his parents were invited, but they never came. I kept a close eye on the entrance of the venue, so I can immediately spot them should they come. The party was terribly dull, and I wanted to go home as soon as possible, but I waited for a little longer hoping that he and his parents would come. They did not, and I had to sit at our table wishing I was anywhere away from there.

I would be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't disappointed that he never arrived. I had also worn the same dress that night that we first met several months ago, something that Nee-san did not fail to notice.

"Ah, yes. I heard from Haruno. She and I had dinner together a week ago." She added the last part as an afterthought.

"Is that so..."

"Yes. Anyway, you can go now, I still have a meeting with some of the other teachers." She groaned and checked her phone.

"I shall be taking my leave then, Hiratsuka-sensei." After bidding her farewell and closing the door behind me, I started walking to the main entrance of the building since my driver is already 10 minutes away. There were only a few students that I encountered in the hallway, since most of them had already gone to their homes. From the glass windows to my left, I can see students, some in pairs, walking to the school gate.

Among those pairs, I saw the unmistakable ahoge that belonged to my fellow class representative that I can see every day at class, accompanied by a girl with long silvery-blue hair in a ponytail. Aside from those differences, he wore a jet black coat while the girl beside him wore a light brown one. I had never seen that girl before, and I couldn't see her face since they were facing away from me.

The girl walked close beside him. If I had walked with him with that proximity, he would undoubtedly step away to put some space between us. Is she his friend? I don't know. The only friend that he admits to having when we briefly spoke are Shiromeguri-senpai and someone called "Kei-chan". The girl beside him took a step closer to him. Maybe it's from the cold weather that she seeks his larger form that exudes more body heat?

I don't know why, but I felt strange when I saw the sight, and I subconsciously frowned.

* * *

"Happy Valentine's Day, Onii-chan!" My imotou squealed and gave me a hug. Seriously, what a touchy-feely girl. Some guys would like to be greeted with a kiss in the morning, even more so in the morning of Valentine's day, but I'm not like most guys. She jumped at me with her hands ready to wrap around my person. Of course, if I was serious, I can easily dodge thi-.

 _*Mwah*_

Her lips made contact with my cheek and she immediately started giggling to herself. Honestly, what a touchy-feely girl.

"Yeah, happy Valentine's Day to you too." I kissed her forehead and she started skipping away downstairs. What a ball of cuteness and energy.

My Father had arrived a few days ago from The Netherlands and he had quite the large baggage when we picked him up at the airport. He said that the trip was a success, and he managed to get some trade deals with a few Dutch companies. Mostly import and export deals with some manufacturing companies, and a few investments here and there, well, that's what he said anyway. Mother on the other hand, had already started the construction and renovation of a new building that she rented near a train station here in Chiba, only around thirty minutes away by car from her first one downtown.

After I arrived downstairs and greeted everyone else, I seated myself to the table and waited for the food that was being prepared by my Father. He made a western-style breakfast that he grew accustomed to when he was overseas recently. I didn't complain though, it was a nice change of pace but I still yearned for rice. The jam that the brought with him was especially too sweet for my liking, in fact, it was so sweet, that I can feel the diabeetus flowing into me. I quickly prepared a separate bento for me to suite my taste, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

With my usual morning rituals done, I took a cold bath to wake up my body. Personally, I'm not really a fan of hot baths, it feels like I'm being cooked alive and I'm afraid that I'll get easily scalded. Since the weather is still a bit cold, I'm still using one of the jackets that I got from Dad from his subsidiary apparel-manufacturing firm. This time, instead of my usual black one, I opted to use my light-brown winter jacket with fur lining at the collar and on the inside.

The walk to school was uneventful, and I soon arrived at the main entrance where I changed my shoes into the indoor ones. This girls around were really jumpy, and I heard a squeal when one of them opened their locker. Most likely a letter from an admirer. I opened mine…

And lo and behold…

There was none.

I-It's not like I was expecting anything, b-baka!

After changing my shoes, I made a beeline to my classroom so I can finally sit down and read the sequel to " _A Courtesan's Wish"._ Upon entering, and quietly taking my seat, I opened my bag and started reading away. I heard some voices from some of the girls around me, excitement evident in their voices. Good grief, I still can't believe that the Student Council, me included, and a whole battalion of student volunteers had hung up heart decorations around the school. I wanted voiced out my concern for such an undertaking, stating that this was a waste of time and resources, but I knew that I'll get beaten anyway so I kept my mouth shut.

Sensei arrived at class right on time and she looks angry for some reason. Come on Sensei, turn that frown upside down~!

Eww that sounded disgustingly optimistic coming from me.

Seriously, Sensei, a gorgeous woman like you shouldn't frown. Wait, maybe it's BECAUSE that it's Valentine's Day that she's mad? She doesn't have a date, does she? When I finished that train of thought, she turned to me and glared daggers into my soul. Come on Sensei, I know I teased you but I did give you a compliment, that _has_ to count for something, right?

She finally calmed down and started the class, though I sensed that she was a bit too strict than usual. One subject came after the other, and in our Biology class, our teacher made a joke about love so lame that I had to put my head on the desk to try and supress the cringe. My other classmates thought so too since some of them did the same and a few face palmed.

Before long, it was lunch time, and the classroom thinned out as my classmates went to the cafeteria to eat. Only a few remained, and most of them were in groups ranging from two's to four's. I opened my bento to find steamed vegetables, chicken and fish fillet and some pickled vegetables. I was about to "dig in", oh that sounded very riajuu-like, but I sensed a presence approach me from my left side.

I turned around and saw Yukinoshita walking towards me with a bento held in her hands, her eyes stern and her mouth a thin straight line. I raised a brow at her but she didn't talk and stopped right in front of me.

"…" Her eyes were cold, but they didn't look hostile upon closer inspection, which I was thankful since I was not in the mood for another verbal battle. I continued staring her down but she refused to back down.

"…"

"Good day, did you need something?" I finally say, breaking the silence between us.

"Do you mind if I eat with you?" She said and started moving the chair in front of me so we can face together. Oi, if you're gonna do it anyway, what's the point in asking my permission? Goodness, what a rude girl. Once she properly aligned the chairs, she sat down but our knees were touching so I moved a bit back to avoid being called a pervert who gets off on feeling a girl's thighs.

"…"

"Itadakimasu." She said softly and opened her bento. Her's was similar to mine, but the outside had a cute panda design and the vegetables that were on the rice were aligned to look like a cat. Sometimes I forget that the Ice Queen is just a normal girl who likes cute things too, since whenever I think of her, I immediately think of some rich smartass brat with a very prickly manner of speaking whenever she's talking to me.

"Itadakimasu…" I followed suit and started eating. I started on my vegetables first before I went down to the main course. It is very unlike her to do this, and I immediately began thinking that she wanted something from me. I went into overdrive, watching her movements for the slightest sign of something that would reveal the true reason on why she approached me in the first place.

"So, how was your winter break?" She finally asked.

"It was normal. What about yours?" I reply, trying to hide how perplexed I was. This is a very unyukinoshita-like action, initiating a conversation I mean. Did she bump her head or something?

"Is that so. Just the same as usual." She quietly replied. I wonder what aristocrat children do on winter break, probably attending parties and other social events and whatnot.

"But," she added a moment later, "I believe my Father had sent an invitation to your Father as well. I recall the both of them speaking from time to time on the few occasions that I am at my parent's home."

"Oh, did he now? I my Father never told me that. He spent most of the winter break at home and would sometimes go to Tokyo to personally check the recent happenings in the firm." I replied in all honesty. I can't think of any reason why my Father would turn down an invitation. I don't mind going of course, since there is free food and all.

"I see..." She quietly said and nodded to herself.

We got quiet after that, and I noticed that she was looking at my bento with interest. I recalled that Yukinoshita lived alone in her apartment when she mentioned it one time. It must be pretty lonely, going to a home where no one welcomes you at the door with a hug or a greeting at least. I mean, even if I _am_ the first one to arrive at home, Kamakura is there to greet me.

"Do you cook your own meals, Hikigaya-kun?" She inquired and eyed a piece of chicken that I had yet to touch. Oh so she wants it huh…

"Yes, do you want some?" I offered her my bento in a gesture that she can take anything that she wanted. Wait, what if she is one of those girls in some anime that look really skinny but in fact have the biggest appetite in the entire show…?

"Don't mind if I do, my thanks." She said and reached out and took a piece of chicken and gently put it on top of her rice.

"You can take from mine too, if you want." She offered up her bento just like me and I observed that the alignment of the contents were very neat and organized, very Yukinoshita-like, if I say so myself.

"Thanks." I took a small slice of carrot some tofu slightly covered in soy sauce. It was really good, especially when I paired it with the fish fillet that I cooked this morning.

"No need for you to be so modest, you can take whatever you want." She declared and lightly frowned when she saw the size of the food that I had taken.

"I'm fine with just this, thank you." I say. I am a very considerate person, and I would never take more that what was needed from someone who offered me something.

"Your cooking is…good." She said, which caused me to be a bit pleased since this was the first time she tasted my food. I'm really glad that she liked it; I was a bit nervous because I cooked this in a rush after all.

"Thank you. Yours is great too." She lightly blushed when I praised her food and had a small smile too. Oi don't go blushing now, blushing is contagious and would undoubtedly lead to an awkward situation. Thankfully, it didn't go to that, and we continued having small bit of conversation as we quietly ate at the corner of this lonely classroom of ours. We finished at the same time, and to quench my thirst, I brought out my trusty portable thermos which I had refilled with hot tea earlier this morning.

"Would you like some tea?" I asked her before she could stand up to get her water bottle.

"That would be splendid, thank you." With that, I offered her a cup which also served as the first lid of the thermos and poured her a steaming brew of tea. Her delicate fingers wrapped around them, as if to get as much warmth from them as soon as possible. I watched her take small sips from the cup, and she would close her eyes and give a sigh of satisfaction.

"Do you not have an extra cup?" she asked when she noticed that I was just pouring tea for her and not drinking from a cup.

"I have a milk carton here." I took it from my bag and showed it to her, the action making her lightly giggle. She moved several strands of her long black silky hair behind her ear, and I was enamored by the sight. As if a spell had suddenly been cast on my person. When I asked her what was funny, she just shook her head and dismissed the subject. Come to think of it, I believe it is the first time that I have seen her giggle…

And if I am being completely honest…

Her smile is pretty cute…

* * *

 ** _Happy Valentine's Day everyone!_**

 ** _Ivanov117 here!_**

 ** _Sorry for the late update, my laptop is busted and I had to go to a nearby cybercafe to write this. Writing on my phone gives me a headache and my fingers get sore quicker for some reason and I don't have the morale to go with it. I haven't quite picked a new laptop to buy, but I have my eye on an Acer and a Dell model tho..._**

 ** _Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and you can write down your comments on this chapter so I can see any mistakes that I made, or you can just give your opinion or suggestion! Please look forward to the next chapter!_**

 ** _Arrivederci!_**

 ** _If you'll excuse me, I have a date later huehuehuehuehue._**


	19. He Reaches His Limits

"Hey Hayato, wanna hang out later? Me and the others are going to the arcade." One of my male classmates came to me together with some of his friends.

"Yeah, let's go dude!"

"Ahaha, sorry, but as what Sensei announced earlier, along with an official announcement from the Student Council through the school's speakers, all first-year class reps have to go to a meeting after class." I told them as I scratched my head in a sheepish way.

"Aww come on, can't you just skip it just once?"

"There's an attendance so…" I reply once again while scratching my cheek, which caused them to make disappointed expressions. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you tomorrow." I hastily added without thinking.

 _Sigh_ There goes my free time tomorrow…

"Ok! See you tomorrow then! We'll be going on ahead!" I waved them goodbye as we parted ways at the hallway and then I began walking to the room where we were supposed to hold the meeting. Unfortunately, my female counterpart was absent today because she was feeling sick, so it's just me representing our class.

A few minutes later, I arrived but there was a line outside, they were probably class reps too. It didn't take long for the line to start moving and I soon caught the figure of who was taking the attendance at the front of the door.

"Ryuta Futaro."

"Tae Rin."

"Hakuro Tenzen."

The students all announced their names, and once it was confirmed by Hikigaya, he bid them to go inside and take a seat. I could occasionally hear a greeting from one of the students directed to Hikigaya, to which he would politely return one of his own.

"Yo Hikigaya, working so hard I see." One boy said when it was his turn.

"Good Afternoon. Please go inside and take a seat, we will begin shortly." His replies were…very _professional,_ yet _cold_ at the same time. It was filled with politeness and courteousness, but I didn't sense any friendly vibes coming from him. Almost like how store workers would be very polite to customers, but only because they had to since it was their job.

I noticed one of the girls gave him a bright and charming smile that would make most guy's heats skip a beat, but he just nodded at her to go inside as his eyes returned to the checklist that he was holding. Ouch, that must have hurt. Girls are way more affected to being ignored than guys.

"Yo Hikigaya." I greeted him when it was finally my turn.

"Good Afternoon, Hayato-san. Please go inside and take a seat, we will begin shortly." He replied in a slightly cold, yet polite tone.

He looked different somehow, in a sense that he looks tired-looking. I also noticed that he looks paler compared to the last time I saw him. I didn't know that is was possible for him to be paler than he already is. His eyes were half-lidded, but whenever they would focus on you, you would see the unmistakable sharpness of his wit from the glint of his eyes. Very calculating, as if a million things had been analyzed and examined from your image in the moment that he had seen you.

His eyes kind of remind me of Yukino-chan, though his were sharper, analytical and had a certain edge to it, compared to how her's were cold and scrutinizing. Well, that's to be expected from our year's top student, I guess. I can't believe he remained at the top since classes started.

I gave him a nod and went inside to see that some of the tables have already been occupied. Each table was occupied by a pair of class reps. I spotted one a few tables behind from the front and made my way there. To my surprise, Yukino-chan was there, though the seat beside her had a bag on it that I'm sure it wasn't hers. She was reading a book and the table that she had occupied was at the front to the right side of the teacher's table. I wasn't aware that she was elected as a Class Representative too.

I sat down alone in my area, a sigh escaped my lips as I finally had some time for myself. Not that I am annoyed by my usual group of friends or anything, it's just that everyone, even the most extroverted person you know, needs some alone time every now and then. Even _I_ am not exempted from that.

There was some chatter here and there, but it wasn't loud enough to warrant Hikigaya coming inside and telling everyone to keep quiet. Some of the class reps were speaking to their partners, but most of them were quiet and keeping to themselves.

After around fifteen minutes, Hikigaya entered the room with a satisfied look on his face. When he stood in front, all noise instantly stopped and everyone focused their attention to him. I said earlier that his eyes were very tired-looking, but the way he walked and carried himself was the complete opposite. Chest out and a good posture, he walked to the center, unfazed by the eyes and attention that were on him.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for coming today, and, I would like to apologize in behalf of the Student Council for giving this announcement on such a short notice." He said and lightly bowed to us, much to our surprise.

"Don't worry Vice Prez! It's alright!" One of the guys said with a loud and encouraging voice.

"Yeah! Don't be too formal and uptight, Vice Prez! Loosen up a little!" A girl from the back said which earned a few laughs from the others.

"I see, that's good to hear." Hikigaya nodded. "The reason why you're all here is because the school is giving out forms to the first-years. An evaluation, as I would like to call it, on our stay here in Sobu High so far. Suggestions and reasonable complaints are welcome, as far as I know. As well as recommendations on areas needed for improvement. Also, you will be given a list of all the students in your respective class, and what you need to do is to write down all of them who are affiliated with any clubs in school, or those who have thoughts on joining or founding one." He nodded to Yukino and they began distributing the forms that he had mentioned. Is she his secretary or something?

"Once you have filled them out, please drop by the Student Council office so we can verify them and do some double checking for any possible errors."

I took a good look at the forms that were given to us, very basic-looking and had a minimalist-style, but had all the necessary things needed for us to fill out.

"The results of our recent exams while be released soon. As usual, it will be posted on the big general information board and bulletin boards around the school. The other week, a concerned student reported to me that one of the First Years were vandalizing the bulletin board. Apparently, he was pissed off about the results and put his frustration on school property. He was sent to the guidance councilor and promised he won't do it again. To the class rep who is in the same class as him, please keep an eye on him." He added and patiently waited for everyone to calm down after they made a fuss about the exams and the latter. His eyes rested on one of the Class Representatives longer than needed, and he grunted to himself.

They had excited, anxious, mortified and hopeful faces about their results in the exams. Among them, only Yukino-chan and Hikigaya had a bored poker-face. Though I caught her momentarily leer at him and he returned a smirk in return when no one was looking. Huh, so they consider each other as rivals? The thought made me internally laugh. It's good to see that she's opening up to some people.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot." Hikigaya said to himself as he snapped his fingers as if he finally remembered something. He walked to where Yukino-chan was sitting and began rummaging inside the bag that was beside her.

"Damnit, where is that thing."

"It's here with me, you gave it to me earlier, remember?" Yukino-chan said to him and gave him a folder. With a word of thanks, he went back in front and began flipping through the pages, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Ah, here it is. As mandated by the school, we will be having an outdoor camping activity to foster "Friendship, Cooperation and Teamwork" for the First and Second Years a few weeks from now. Unfortunately, because of the sheer number of the students, it would be divide by two groups. The First Year group will be the first one to go, while the Second Years will depart on a later date. The Third Years are too busy to join us, so they will be sitting this one out it seems. Please wait for further details from either the teachers or from us."

The room immediately erupted in excited voices and cheers after he was done speaking, to his dismay which caused him to sigh in exasperation and hold his temple.

The noisiest girl, which was a table away from where I was sitting, made a move to get her phone. Most likely to inform her friends of the new-.

"Oi." Hikigaya's voice was as cold as General Winter, pierced through the noise of the room, instantly silencing everyone. A second later, the room was so silent, that you could drop a needle in the middle and everyone would be able to hear it.

It was as if time itself had stopped.

"Please refrain from telling anyone else about this. This topic will not exit the walls of this room." He said with an air of seriousness around him.

"If we ever find out about a slip of information, then everyone here will be sanctioned with punishments from yours truly, as instructed by our Adviser and the Head Principal himself. A sin of one is a sin of all, as I would like to say." He added.

The poor girl which had fallen under his gaze, faltered and was sweating bullets. With a slow and trembling nod, she put down her phone, as if it would explode from the slightest motion.

"Are we clear?" He said in a menacing voice with his usual poker-face on.

"Yes!" Everyone said in unison.

"Please don't hold this against me, I'm only doing what I'm told..." He said in an apologetic tone loud enough for everyone to hear. Many had looks of understanding when he said that. He wasn't an all powerful entity in the school, he was only an ordinary student just like us, though he had more duties and responsibilities than your ordinary student. There are certain things you always have to keep in mind, an image to maintain along with the expectations placed on you when you're the top student after all.

He was only doing his job and what's expected of him.

His eyes softened after a moment. "I would now entertain your questions, should you have one."

A guy raised his hand and he nodded at him to stand up.

"Where are the other Student Council members anyway?" One asked him.

"Shiromeguri-senpai has a meeting with one of our partner schools. The others have cram school or are busy with one of their major subjects, especially the Third-Years. I was the only one with vacant time so yeah." He said as he partially sat down on the table and crossed his legs.

"Which school?" Another asked him.

"Hmm, I believe it was Kaihin Sougou High." He said as he scratched his chin and everyone started whispering to each other. I am quite familiar with that school. I have some friends and acquaintances over there

"Anything else?" He asked and everyone shook their heads.

"One last thing, a concerned parent came to us a few days ago. He said that his son was on a _"School Trip"_ apparently, and it was a few days later that he went home. We found out that that was a fabrication on the student's part. The truth was that he was hanging out with his friends from middle-school, skipping classes and whatnot. The local government of Chiba has informed the schools on the possible rise of delinquency on the youths. There will be a seminar conducted in a function hall downtown to address this concern and everyone is welcome to attend. We will start posting this on the bulletin boards after this meeting, and you can tell your friends and classmates about it. The official announcement will tomorrow 10:00am on the school's speakers. The event itself will happen next Saturday."

"Ok, so that concludes our meeting for today. Please get the forms for your class tomorrow at the office since the forms that you have right now is just a sample. Please be careful on your way home." All of us stood up and began walking towards the door.

"Thank you for your hardwork, Vice Prez!"

"Be careful on your way home too, Hikigaya-san."

He received those words as we began walking out the door and would give nods of acknowledgement. We did the same when our eyes met and he immediately turned his attention to the person behind me. I'm well aware that Yukino-chan is aware of me, but she's completely ignoring me, as expected. She didn't even breathe in my direction, much less look at me.

I looked behind me and saw that it was only Yukino-chan and him at the room, they were talking and the door closed before I could hear what they were talking about. She said something, which caused one of his eyebrows to cock upwards.

Huh, so she finally made a friend, or at least someone she's on cordial terms with...that's good. What I did back then, cannot be easily forgiven. Especially from a person with a personality like her.

* * *

 _Blink_

 _Blink Blink_

Huh...A white ceiling..?

Wait, this isn't my room. I don't have a big window and white curtains to my left. Not to mention my table with my nightstand and unfinished Light Novel. I look down and see white bed sheets that weren't mine. In other words, I do not recognize my surroundings.

I sat up and I realized that I was in my school uniform. A moment after that, the bell sounded, and I came to the conclusion that I was a the infirmary. With a glance at my watch, I saw that it was around 11:12 am and lunch should have started a few minutes ago. A headache suddenly assaulted me when I tried to move, which caused me to wince in pain. For some reason, I was also feeling cold, even with my feet covered in socks, they were still freezing. And for someone who doesn't feel cold that easily, this caused an alarm from within me. I instinctively put the covers over my body once more.

The only thing left for me is to snee-

 _ACHOO!_

 _Sniff_

 _Sniff_

 _Cough_

Sneeze…

Damnit, I'm sick? How did this happen?

 _ ***Well Hikigaya, you have been overworking your body recently. Too much time working and too little time resting, your body can only do so much before something like this happened.***_

Seeing that I was too weak to move around, I managed to get my bag and took out my sketchpad. Being bedridden won't stop me from finishing my drawing to submit for our Arts and Culture class. Heh, that sounded really cool.

I then began thinking on what I should draw. Our teacher was very vague, and said, _"Draw whatever comes to your mind on the moment you picked up your pencil!"_. Good grief, what a stereotypical thing for an Arts teacher to say. But he was right, I already had something on my mind when I picked held my pencil with my right hand. I moved a bit, trying to find a comfortable position for me to draw in. With that done, I began to draw the framework of my drawing.

The central lines for me to draw the body came first, then I began drawing the flesh that would cover the _"skeleton"_. It took me a while, but I smoothed the exterior parts and edges and began drawing the fingers, legs, thighs and the chest part of my drawing.

Not too skinny, yes, just like that. Now for the legs. Long legs look nice, hmm, there we go. Hmm, I think these thighs are too THICC, it looks weird from this angle. Ah, very nice. The lower part of the body looks equally proportioned. An hourglass figure looks great, but I have to be careful not to make it too unrealistic. There, oh, yes, how could I forget the bellybutton? The arms were quite difficult, I had to physically do the pose for me to grasp it and put it on paper, same goes for the fingers. Hmm, now for the chest. What would be a good size, I wonder...?

I put down my pencil, and after sneezing, closed my eyes and put my arms around my chest as I began to use 100% of my mental power to come up with a satisfying conclusion. Definitely not an A-cup, no offense to those women who have this, of course. B is fine, but I think C is best.

With my predicament over, I began to draw on that area of my art piece, as expected, it was the easiest part so far to draw.

And now comes the hard part, drawing clothes has always been my nightmare. A frilly Gothic Lolita-style dress came to mind, but I wasn't quite skilled enough to make it happen. So a standard Japanese-style school uniform for females would do for now.

Before my pencil could make contact with the paper however, a particularly strong sneeze racked my body to the bone.

"Bless you." A feminine voice said before moving aside the white curtains around me that gave me privacy. Of course, I knew who was my unannounced visitor from her voice alone.

"Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei." I say as I wiped my nose with a nearby tissue.

"How are you feeling?" She asked with concern and took a seat beside me bed. I quickly closed my sketchbook, afraid that Sensei might see it and accuse me of being a Hentai Doujin Artist in-the-making.

"I'm feeling 100%." I say with my voice sounding funny from my clogged nose, not to mention that it sounded sore and dry at the end. My sarcasm did not amuse the older female in front of me, and her brows furrowed at my reply.

"Very funny. Now, hold still." She said with a serious tone, unaffected by my sarcastic reply, and leaned towards me.

Woah.

Woah.

WOAH.

Her soft slender hands held my face as her eyes assaulted me with an intense look. Our faces were VERY close and one accidental move would cause things to be very awkward. After several heartbeats, she used one of her fingers to the area under my eye and pulled down on it.

"Ow." She ignored me as she continued with her assessment, I mean _harassment_. Amirite? Ah, that joke was lame.

"Your eyes are bloody red, and strained. You haven't had a decent night's sleep recently, have you?"

"...yes…" I say truthfully as I have nothing to gain by lying to my beautiful teacher whose face is inches away from me. This is truly a difficult situation for a monk like me to be in. Being in in such a close proximity with someone like her would cause my hormonal body to react.

She nodded to herself and placed her palm on my forehead to feel my temperature. Ah, yes, such a classic move, one that has withstood the test of time. Something straight out of a romantic shojou manga. Wait…

"Hmm, your temperature is higher than average." She announced as she finally put some distance between us. Whew, that was close. Anymore and I would have lost control of my body. Is she teasing me? She is isn't she? I think she's deliberately doing this to get a reaction from me. Then it's fine if I reciprocate, right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right?

 _ ***Hikigaya, calm down. You're thinking like a hentai protagonist.***_

Cease your barking, mongrel. Have you no eyes? Or are you just an ingrate mongrel who cannot see my intended jape?

"Rest assured sensei, once I feel better, I will go back to class as soon as possi-" A particularly strong fit of coughs suddenly hit and reverberated throughout my body. I didn't know when it happened, but tears came from my eyes as I continued coughing violently. It eventually reached my mouth where I tasted the familiar salty liquid.

Sensei was alarmed, and put a hand on my back in an attempt to help me feel better. Even though I don't like sudden physical contact like earlier, her gesture was welcome. _"That's enough."_ she would whisper to me as my coughing continued.

"Thank you." I say as I wiped my tears away, lone streak managed to slip past my hand and dropped onto my sketchpad. Good grief, I must look so pathetic right now…

"Goodness, I'll get you some water." Hiratsuka-sensei said with a concerned tone and hurriedly left, her quick and loud footsteps echoing in the room. She came back shortly, and I drank everything, to her insistence.

"Thank you, my throat isn't as dry now." I say.

"I see, that's good." Hiratsuka-sensei's eyes lightened up when she heard that, but quickly returned to her worried-look when her eyes fell on me. She looked at the time and asked if I had lunch yet, to which I obviously replied in the negative.

"What do you want for lunch? My treat." Hiratsuka-sensei stood up and waited for my reply. I thought about refusing her offer, but I am quite hungry and in no shape to get up anytime soon.

"Anything would be fine, Sensei." I say.

"Ok, be back in a flash and don't move from there." She said and quickly walked out of the room.

While she didn't exactly come back in a flash, she did arrive earlier than expected carrying a tray of sandwiches and onigiri.

"Sorry, this was all that was left." She said in an apologetic tone and placed the tray on my lap. A tiny part of me wanted her to spoon feed me, but I'm not the main character of a harem anime after all.

"Thank you very much, Hiratsuka-sen-" I felt the cough coming before it arrived, and I managed to move the tray before it can spill and make a mess all over me. Hiratsuka-sensei once again moved her hand to my back in an attempt to comfort me, and I noticed that she would wince every time I coughed.

"I'm very sorry about that." I say after getting a moment to breathe.

"Don't worry about it. Here," She picked up an onigiri and offered it to my free hand, "I picked this since it's one of my favorites in the cafeteria." I wordlessly accepted it and after taking a quick look at it, began smelling it.

"Do you always smell your food before eating…?" Hiratsuke-sensei asked with an amused look.

"I do actually. To fully enjoy a meal to the fullest, I believe one must use all of his senses. Visual appeal is important, as it is the first sense to bear witness to the food. Listening to the crunch of every bite, and analyzing it, you can tell how fresh it is. The scent of the food is key on igniting that spark of hunger within us, a too strong smell might be avoided by others, while a too light smell can be understood as bland and utterly tasteless. Feeling the texture of the food in your mouth, how tough or soft the food is, should not be underestimated. It being out of the ordinary will most likely be noticed by observant individuals." I say proudly with my chest out.

It's a miracle that I didn't have a sudden fit of cough while I was talking. The Tuna Onigiri was great, the small amount of mayonnaise inside paired nicely with it. Hiratsuka-sensei ate too, and inhaled an onigiri in one go. Her cheeks enlarged as she started chewing on the food. She turned to me while doing so and it reminded me of a hamster with food in it's cheek pouches. She looked cute, but still…

Good grief, how unladylike...

The school nurse arrived with meds and a small note. She informed us that she had called my Father an hour ago of my current condition. No one answered our phone at home, so she immediately contacted my Father.

Huh? An hour ago? Then how long was I resting here then? I completely forgot about that.

"What? My Father?" I asked.

"Yes, he said that he's on his way." The nurse said. I was confused, I thought Dad was in Hokkaido? Did something happen that made him cancel his trip? As for my Mother, she is in Saitama right now I believe, as she was invited as a speaker for a university there.

Two pairs of footsteps entered the room, and we heard them in the middle of a conversation.

"-id not know that your son was here in the infirmary. Had I known, I would have called you immediately." Hmm, that's the voice of our principal.

I soon caught sight of my Father and the Principal. My Father was wearing a pitch black business suit, his hair neatly combed and his facial hair shaved. I saw the same eyes that I inherited from him when we made eye contact. He looks quite intimidating, to say the least. The Principal gave me an apologetic look for some reason.

"Dad."

"Hachiman, are you alright? What happened?" He asked, entirely ignoring the people around him. The nurse and Hiratsuka-sensei gave us some space as my Father loomed over me when he stood next to the bed.

I then began telling him everything that happened, from when what I did when I woke up this morning, to when I finally came to here in the infirmary. My Father gave me a hard look, and on his eyes reflected that same expression whenever I would observe someone to see if they're telling the truth.

"Mr. Hikigaya, as the school Nurse, I would recommend your son to go home for now, to rest and take his medicine." She added from the side and everyone turned to her.

"Indeed, you should go home for now Hikigaya-kun." The Principal said to me, which earned a nod and a thumbs-up from Hiratsuka-sensei behind him.

I sighed in resignation and gave them a quick nod, with me being outnumbered, I had no choice but to submit to the coalition formed against me. I slowly got up from the bed and picked up my bag. Each movement somehow causing my head to hurt in rhythm to the beating of my heart.

"Thank you for watching over my son Sensei." My Father bowed in thanks to Hiratsuka-sensei and Fujima-sensei. I secretly apologized to Fujima-sensei in my mind. I really have to start practicing on remembering people's names...

"Goodbye Hikigaya-kun, get some rest. I'll inform the other teachers and Shiromeguri so they'll at least know the reason of your absence." Hiratsuka-sensei said with a smile as I gave her and the school nurse my thanks and waved them goodbye. The Principal was tagging along with us, weird…

I had forgotten that the time was currently lunch time, and so there were many students loitering on the halls walking here and there. I have learned to ignore the stares directed at me, but most of their eyes were fixated on my Father. Hey, he's not scary y'know! And it's like the first time you've seen an adult inside the school that wasn't member of the faculty and staff! Damn normies.

The Principal was assured me that he would take care of things while I was away. I think him personally saying this was…redundant, since Hiratsuka-sensei already said the same thing earlier. We separated with him at the entrance and finally reached the parking lot of the school, where I saw my Father's car. It's been a while since I entered this vehicle since he always uses this to work and all, and I only see my Father a few days in a week. I opened the door and hopped right beside the driver seat, but not before coughing again for several seconds.

When he closed the door and went inside, the engine automatically came to life which startled me.

" _Welcome, Hikigaya Joushirou-san."_ A feminine voice from the car's speakers said.

Woah.

I heard two _beeping_ sounds, one came from the car's speakers and the other came from my Father's…phone?

" _Connection established, voice commands have been activated. Current time is 11:53 am, location temperature is at 19 degrees Celsius and GPS systems have been initialized."_ The voice said again and I had to hide a childlike grin from forming on my mouth. My Father gave me an amused smirk and we drove outside the school gate and into the road.

"Please send message to all departments." He said, and a moment later a beep of acknowledgement came from the car.

"Please cancel my schedule for today and tomorrow, I have urgent family matters to attend to." Two beeps came again, and this time, it was followed up by the car's voice.

" _Acknowledged…sending message…sending successful."_

My phone rang, and I got it out of my bag and saw that it was from my Mother. I pressed "receive call" and put the phone next to my ear.

"HACHIMAN ARE YOU OK?! IS YOUR FATHER THERE?! HAVE YOU EATEN YET?!" My Mother's loud voice assaulted my eardrums, which instinctively caused me to cringe away from the phone. Ah, my ears are ringing, I must have accidentally turned on the loud speaker . Even my Father had to wince at the volume.

"Goodness, even on the phone, Hitomi is loud as heck when she's stressed out…" I hear my Father laugh to himself with a small smile.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm with Dad right now. And I've eaten but I'm still a bit hungry." I say and this time, the phone was a few inches away from my ear to avoid permanent hearing damage.

"OK I'LL FIX UP SOMETHING NICE-AH! THE WATER!" With that, the phone went dead, and me and my Father laughed since what just transpired was something straight from a Western 90's comedy show.

* * *

Hey guys and welcome back!

Sorry for the late update, I haven't had a good inspiration in a while. I don't write when I don't have inspiration since the result is usually bad and shitty. And I absolutely REFUSE on writing something that I didn't put my whole heart and 100% into! Also, I have an idea for a new Oregairu fanfic. It's still in my head for now but all I can say that it's main elements are, serious romance and takes place during Hikigaya's third and final year in Sobu High. Nothing is set in stone as of now, it's just a raw idea that popped up in my head when I was taking a shower lol. But that doesn't mean that I'm abandoning this fic of course.

Oh and season 3 has been announced.

Thank you for staying and reading and I hope you have a nice day ahead!


	20. Break Days

**_Day 3_**

"Jeez Onii-chan, you really should take care of yourself more." I say as I spoon-feed him with rice porridge that Mom had made this morning. Today was the third day that he was bedridden, he was too weak to go downstairs so I took it upon myself to come to his room and feed him.

"Say aaaahh~."

"Aahh…" As he started eating, I noticed that the area under his eyes were getting darker, and he could barely fully open his eyes for a few seconds before nodding off to sleep. His arms also suddenly got thin and his complexion was deathly pale. Seeing him like this, so weak, so helpless, really hurts Komachi's heart…

Despite wearing a long-sleeved thermal shirt, his hands were very cold. We weren't even using the Air Conditioning System in his room…

"Water please…" His said in a rough voice that often cracked. In other times, I would have laughed at it, but listening to him like that reminded me of his current state. I gave him the glass and he started drinking in small sips. Today is Saturday, and he was supposed to have his part-time job this afternoon. He called his Boss last night and told her that he couldn't go. I'm glad that Onii-chan has such a caring and considerate boss. As for his taekwondo lessons tomorrow, they were supposed to have a training with another group from outside Chiba. I don't know what he told his Sensei, since he's strangely secretive about that part of his Sunday routine…

This went on for some time, me spoon-feeding him in this quiet home of ours. On the first day that he got sick, Mom had dropped her seminar in Saitama and went straight home, same with Dad immediately cancelling his travel schedule to Hokkaido. I went home that afternoon to find him already sleeping and changed, with Kamakura rolled up into a ball next to him in his room. The next day, Dad went out to buy medicine while Mom stayed behind and slept in Onii-chan's room to see to his needs.

He was so pale when he first came downstairs yesterday supported by Dad. When Mom saw how weak he still was, she forbade him from going downstairs unless it's to relieve himself in the restroom. I hope he doesn't have anything serious...

After he felt full, he took his meds and covered himself in his thick blanket. I quietly took the utensils and went downstairs to do the dishes. As I was about to close the door behind me, Kamakura trotted from the side and entered his room, staying at the foot of his bed and taking a nap there.

"What a good kitty cat…" I whisper.

As I was cleaning the dishes, my phone rang from the living room and I quickly dried my hands before picking it up and answering it.

"Hello?"

 _"Komachi~~! Are you coming with us today? We saw this new café in downtown yesterday and we totally think you'd love it!"_ Ah, it was just some of my friends…

"Sorry, I'm taking care of my big brother right now since he's sick…"

 _"Oh, is that so? Is he your Onii-chan that you love to brag about at school~~?"_ She replied in a teasing tone.

"S-Shut up! Anyway, I'm doing what every little sister needs to do when her big brother is sick!" I say hastily.

 _"Ok ok, we get it you brocon. Anyway, we'll send you some pictures later ok? We hope your big brother feels better!"_ We exchanged farewells and ended the call. Ugh, my friends can get too teasing sometimes it's embarrassing…

After returning to finish the dishes, I went back upstairs to Onii-chan's room. Since I was his taking care of him, I decided to put a futon near the foot of his bed so I can at least make myself comfortable while I watch over him. I came to see that he was already sound asleep, while Kamakura was sleeping on the chair for his study table.

I put my hand over his head to see that his temperature was still quite hot, he also put on a facemask when I was away. I slowly and carefully sat on the edge of his bed right next to him, caressing his hair with my hand. When Komachi was still small and sick, Onii-chan would do that to me and he would sleep in my room to keep me company when Mom and Dad weren't at home.

Now is my time to return the favour! Do not fear, for I am here!

I texted our parents on his current state before lying down on the futon and going through social media on the latest happenings. To pass the time, I started watching cute cat videos and stuff since I didn't see anything interesting on my news feed.

"K-Ko… K-Komachi…"

"Haiii, your Komachi is here~. Do you need something, Onii-chan~?"

"I want to read something." He croaked out with his eyes barely opening, and pointed to his closet.

"Will do! What book do you want me to get?" I get up and made my way to the closet and opening it. His bookshelves were already quite full, so he puts some of his books in a box on the lower part of his closet for safekeeping. He also divided them by type with labels like "Classical", "Western Literature", "Biographies" and "English".

"The one with the label "Light Novels"." He said, and I picked up a medium-sized box that had the said label on it.

"The title is _The Honourable Mercenary of Kyoto_ , the illustration on the cover page is a man with long-hair tied in a ponytail with a little fox-girl floating behind him." He nonchalantly said the last part as it wasn't weird. Onii-chan reads literally everything that interests him, I've seen him read books like Greek Mythology, Modern and Classical art-styles, the biography of Oda Nobunaga, The Great Space Race, The Rise and Fall of Rome, The Unification of Japan to Light Novels and Manga.

I blushed when I saw some of the cover illustrations on some of the books. Scantily clad girls!

Scantily clad girls everywhere!

After a while, I found it, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the "little fox-girl" wore a proper kimono around herself. I'm glad that Onii-chan isn't a lolicon NEET that didn't get transported to another world after getting hit by a truck, who then claims to be a true gender equalist that wouldn't hesitate to drop-kick a woman.

"Here you go~."

He muttered in thanks and started flipping through that pages and I went downstairs to get a snack since I while I was listening to music. After getting a bag of chips, I went back to his room and lied down on the futon. I didn't even get to open the chips since I fell asleep a few moments after I closed my eyes.

When I came to, I looked at the time to see that an hour had passed, and I check to see if Onii-chan was still reading. The Light Novel was on his lap since he had apparently fallen asleep while reading it. During I was napping, it looked like he wore a facemask. I got up and took the book and moved it to his desk and fixing his hair while I was at it.

"Komachi, I'm feeling cold…" He said with one eye open, but before I could react, he partially moved his blanket away and moved to the side of his bed. I understood what he meant and I plopped right by his side as I pulled the covers over us. My feet accidently made contact with his and I felt them to be really cold. I was about to move them but he trapped them with both of his legs.

"You're not getting away." He said in a lazy and tired voice.

"H-Hmph!"

I looked up from under the blanket and saw him looking straight at me with a curious expression, after several seconds, he blinked twice and cocked his head to the side. I could already imagine the imaginary floating question mark near his head when he did that. Since it would be awkward for us to be facing each other, I faced away from him and nudged myself closer to his larger form. I took his left arm and put it around myself, essentially making me the small spoon. His hand rested near my tummy, and I could feel occasionally feel it when I breathe in and out. I leaned back a bit, just on the area below his neck. It was a perfect fit, as I it was my place there all along.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" He asked in a considerate tone, muffled by the facemask that he wore. Stupid Onii-chan! If I was feeling that, I would have stood up and went back to my futon on the floor!

"No, you're not."

Waaaahhh, this is so embarrassing, how did things go this way? Was I subconsciously seduced into doing this? Does Onii-chan have a mind-control power that he recently discovered and decided to test on me? No, it's my fault, Komachi secretly wants this despite me complaining right now?! I'm not making any sense!

I felt him softly nuzzle himself into my hair, the contact causing pleasurable goosebumps to form all over my neck and I couldn't help but give out a small whimper. "You smell nice."

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Onii-chan, you shouldn't be so straightforward in telling that to a girl, if you did this to anyone else, it would be _suuuuuuuuper_ creepy." I say.

"Hmm, I could imagine Miu-" He suddenly started coughing mid-sentence, but he continued when it went away. "ra-san slapping me if I told her that, but I'm sure that she wouldn't be able to land a hit on me anyway." He was about to laugh but then another cough came. Since we were so close, I could feel his abdominal muscles tense and contract after every cough that went through him.

"Oh, who's that?" I ask.

"She's my frie-" he stopped mid-sentence. I craned my head to look at him, and from the corner of my eyes, I could see that he was frowning, his brows furrowed in concentration.

I didn't pry further, and I felt him shrug and dismiss what he was about to say. "Well, you're the only girl that I could say that to anyway…" He added as an afterthought and I felt my cheeks get warm. Uwaaah, that actually sounded like an overused, yet effective pick-up line.

"Well, you and Mom at least." He added again, and this time I lightly elbowed him in the stomach.

"You're in for a lot of trouble if I catch your cold." I yelped when he suddenly moved his left hand.

"T-This is going to cost you a lot of points, Onii-chan…" I managed to stutter out without exploding into a full-blown squeal of embarrassment.

"I know, I know." He said and even from his muffled voice alone, I could tell that he was smiling.

"I will be your personal heater until you're feeling alright. Extended use of me after that time will cost you an extra 10000000% Komachi-point per day penalty!" I exclaim.

"Good grief, then I'll be sure to use you as much as I can until my time ends, then…" He said, and after a few moments, his breathing relaxed and he fell asleep. Being such in a comfortable position would make me feel sleepy too, and it didn't take long for my eyes to close.

* * *

 ** _Day 5_**

"Haa-chan you can't go out yet, you still have a fever." Mother's firm voice was directed at me from across the kitchen as I ate breakfast from the dining table.

"Ok ok, it was just a suggestion…" I say. Truth be told, I have to admit that I'm still not strong enough to go outside. I still feel a bit wobbly and my head hurts like heck. Dad already dropped Komachi in her school before going to Tokyo. He said that he just parks his car near the station and prefers to commute and walk to work since it was way cheaper than using his car every day. Speaking of his car, it really surprised me the other day when it talked and all. Apparently, it was one of the latest models, and he sold his other car that he bought a few months ago to buy this one instead. He also said that he sold it on a higher price since he added some customized stuff inside to increase its selling value, coupled with the fact that the guy that he sold it to was easily swayed by _"sales talk"_. Damn, I didn't know my Father was very shrewd…looks like his _SPEECH_ level is quite higher than I thought…

"Here's your lunch, make sure to eat everything!" Grilled salmon, a steak of high-quality beef, some cold and salty vegetables, miso soup and orange and mango mochi in the fridge. This is overkill, I can't finish this by myself. I got up and went to the drawer where we store our facemasks, it would be bothersome if the other members of our household would catch a cold too, after all.

After putting the food on the table, and some in the fridge, she went to the bathroom to take a bath before going back to Saitama again. My Mother opened her third branch in Saitama this month, and I'm quite happy that she's successful on her own. Unfortunately, I have never visited her second and third branches yet, but I'll make sure to do so when I'm feeling strong enough. I'm quite sure that my Father's income is _more_ than enough to support us all on his own. But my Mother is a strong and proud independent woman who don't need no man to pamper her with a life of luxury and comfort.

 ** _*Hikigaya, that last part was actually pretty funny, if you understood the reference.*_**

I opened the T.V after I took my medicine and started looking for news about the weather. Huh, its still late winter? The weather is getting weird lately, must be due to climate change. I had requested my Father a few days ago to include international channels in our channel list because, well I just wanted to. I found a nature documentary about the Siberian Tiger and adjusted myself on the sofa to make myself more comfortable.

"Uwaah, an English channel? When was this added?" I turn around and see my Mother wearing a bath robe around herself, her light brown hair still dripping water onto the floor.

"Only a few days ago." I say as I went back to focusing on the T.V in front of me. I heard her footsteps retreat upstairs, and after a few minutes, came down wearing a simple black blouse and white jeans, her hair set in place by a headband.

"You know, I literally can't understand what they're saying." She said as she started watching too while combing her hair and applying makeup on herself.

"They're saying that they found Tiger pawprints on the snow, which was likely made only an hour or two ago." I say, with mild difficulty. I'm still not a master of the language itself, and if they talk too fast or in a funny accent, I wouldn't be able to understand them too. Even though my English scores are the highest in our Year, not to brag, but actual application and written forms are very different.

"Take care Haa-chan, remember to take your medicine on time. Your Father and I will be calling every now and then." She said her goodbyes and closed the main door behind her. Her car starting up a few moments later, and I heard her move out from the garage and into the road.

Finally, some alone time.

The house was quiet except for the sounds coming from the T.V, an Englishman with his Siberian guide traversing through the thick mountain snow on their way to the camp site. The Siberian man, his voice thick with a Russian-accent, began narrating how the numbers of Siberian Tigers sighted in the area have lessened over the years. They were apparently retreating deeper into the forests in pursuit of their main prey, which was Deer.

The show ended after an hour, with the scene transitioning into a cave where a mother Tigress was nursing her offspring. Aww, how cute. It's hard to believe that something so small and cute would grow to be one of the world's largest terrestrial carnivores.

I turned off the T.V and went upstairs to get one of my Japanese-English books since I made a mental list of words that were unfamiliar when I watched the show. Sitting down on the sofa with a notebook and pencil, I began listing down the unfamiliar words and guessed how they were spelled. With that done, I began flipping through the pages, eager to expand my vocabulary and increase my proficiency on the language.

It was quite a while before I put my pen down, and I stretched my shoulders which caused my joints to pop. Seeing the time, I took my medicine which I was supposed to do every few hours. The bitter taste momentarily taking me off guard before I forcibly swallowed it with a glass of water. My body temperature is quite high, so to remedy that, I opted to wear a thick cotton sweatshirt which would cause me to sweat, and in turn naturally cool my body down.

I learned this from a book about basic illnessnes in our school library. It was also the day before I got sent home when I rested in the infirmary. Truly, how strange.

I'm still updated on what's happening in class since Hiratsuka-sensei is emailing me the homework and projects that need to be done. Kawasaki and Kei-chan dropped by the other day, but they came without knowing that I was sick, and it didn't take long for them to go home. My thoughts soon drifted on the current status of the Student Council, and a nerve ticked at my forehead while my left eye twitched in annoyance. Most of the students keep mistaking my position, I'm not the Vice-President damnit! I'm the Head of the Disciplinary Committee! The Disciplinary Committee is an independent entity within the Student Council organization itself, as stated by the Code and By Laws of the Student Council created by the school. I answer directly to the Principal, and not to Shiromeguri-senpai.

Though it says _Committee,_ I'm actually the only member.

Since…well…no one wants to volunteer for the work, so I'm all alone, as usual…

But at least I became familiar with the other members of the Student Council. My responsibilities as Head of the Disciplinary Committee aren't that difficult, and when I have an hour or two to spare, I usually help them out if they need it.

I wonder if my classmates miss me, probably not…But I'm sure that the teachers do since their slave is on a sick leave! Hah! Now it's Yukinoshita's turn to be their errand boy! I mean errand _girl_.

* * *

 ** _Day 7_**

I was never the fan of harem anime. So many choices, yet every choice leads to a girl's broken heart. In some cases, all the potential candidates already have a strong yearning for the main character, which is completely ridiculous. At least visual novels are more believable, where you have to interact, court and earn the affections of the girl that you want, without hurting the feeling of the other girls since they never felt anything for you from the start. It's very satisfying when playing the game, choosing the girl that you want to end up with, befriending her, having fun with her, laying the groundwork for the confession and getting that oh so satisfying "Yes." in the end.

I look around me and sighed at what I saw.

I don't like hospitals, people die here. Some pass away peacefully in their sleep, and some, unfortunately, struggled and writhed until their last moment in this world. An old man in a hospital bed with wheels, passed me by. His arms were so thin and his eyes were closed. A pair of nurses pushed the bed and was closely followed by what I assume to be his son. When I entered this place, the alien scent bothered me. I'm not sure if some people notice this, but hospitals have this specific smell in the air. I can't quite explain it, but I'm sure that you'll agree with me, once you experience it yourself.

The reason why I'm here, you ask?

Well…

I was here yesterday to have a check-up and had a laboratory test after it. It was the usual, X-ray, red blood cell count, white blood cell counts etc. My Mother is horrified of needles and refused to see me getting injected. My arm still hurts from the needle though…

The results were not what I was expecting.

It was discovered that my RBC count was less than the average, with respect to my age, gender and body mass index. In short, I had mild Anemia The result was me getting weaker as time went on, and the labored breathing I would get during my jogs and when in my Taekwondo lessons only made it worsen. I recall Tatsumi-sensei making a comment about my health based on her observations, but I brushed her off and told her it was nothing to worry about. Maybe that's the reason why she didn't pick me to participate in one of the prefecture competitions a month or two ago…

Now that I think back, I sometimes have difficulty breathing, after doing physical exercise and jogging...

I remember fainting after I played Tennis with Miura-san a few months ago. I thought it was just exhaustion from the sudden physical exercise. Maybe that was the time when my condition began to get worse...

One of the more obvious side-effects, aside from the ones already mentioned, was the predominantly pale skin that I have. Thankfully, since it was still mild, I didn't develop skin rashes and other unpleasant side-effects. Hiratsuka-sensei, Miura-san, Hinata-sorry, _Ebina-san,_ Shiromeguri-senpai and even Yukinoshita commented on it from time to time. Of course, I gradually noticed the change of my skin tone, but I ignored it and blamed it on the weather or something. Well, Yukinoshita's comments were more or less playfully insulting my very being instead out of concern, but at least she was aware of it. It looks like being called a "Vampire", "Pale lifeless corpse" and "Zombie" by Yukinoshita during the costume event held some truth after all.

At first, I was horrified at the possible paths that we will take. A blood transfusion came to mind, and even though I'm not scared of getting a needle piercing my skin or two, the needle used in a blood transfusion was _massive,_ when compared to its smaller siblings. But the doctor reassured us that that wasn't needed at the moment, since things like that would only be before a major operation where the loss of blood is a concern.

I was advised to take medicine that promote RBC production. Aside from that, I was instructed by Makatsu-sensei, my doctor, to halt my part-time job and stop my taekwondo practice for the time being, and also to eat food rich iron to promote the growth of my red blood cells such as red meat, like beef and organ meat. Aside from that, I was also prescribed some vitamins and minerals. Yuuka Tatsumi my Boss, and her cousin which also happens to be my Taekwondo sensei, Maya Tatsumi. I had informed them an hour ago through my mobile phone about what the Makatsu-sensei said and they readily agreed. The former already giving me my advance pay for the week which was quite unnecessary if I was being honest, but she insisted.

While my Mother was purchasing the medicine in the hospital pharmacy I'm just here in canteen, waiting for her to arrive. Even though I only have a mild fever now, the light-headedness and headache are still here, but at least my coughing and sneezing dwindled down enough.

Even though I'm using my phone, I am still paying attention to my surroundings. Any sudden movements from the people walking on the corner of my eye would instantly catch my attention, as well as footsteps and audible voices within earshot.

 ** _*Damn Hikigaya, your level of paranoia is over 9000! You would make the ultimate assassin.*_**

It was at that moment when I heard a voice which caused my blood to run cold and my heart to skip a beat out of horror. From the moments that I've learned of her presence, I confirmed that she was alone, for now at least. And the person that she's speaking to is on the other side of the phone. Using the reflective glass on my phone, I discreetly angled it so I can see what's behind me.

Even though her back is to me and she wore an unfamiliar-looking school uniform...that hairstyle and that voice... There is no doubt that it is _she-who-should-not-be-named_.

I unconsciously gulped; it seems that she doesn't recognize me yet. That's good. If she had, then I would be in a precarious situation indeed. Slowly, I got up and walked away trying to look like I'm stepping into a minefield. I would not be leaving this area no, instead, I would be sitting at a table farthest away from her. I sat down facing in her general direction to just observe and figure out why she's here in the first place. She suddenly turned, and I saw the face which captured my middle-school heart.

She's still pretty as I remember her to be, I can see why I fell for her back then.

I smiled mockingly to myself and looked down, glad that the facemask that I wore hid it from view. Oh, how stupid I was. Thinking that she actually liked me and all. It was only her kindness and looks that moved me into being a delusional little idiot. I had mistaken her kindness as affection towards me, and I totally fell for it. In my delusion, I was blind to see that she was like that to everyone else, not just to me. She was friends and kind to everyone, even a social outcast like me. She was the one who reached out to me first. My oh my, now I remember why I treat nice girls with distrust.

How truly stupid I was back then.

Admittedly, I just stared at her for God knows how long. My wounds from back then opening, but I managed to suppress and bury it into the deepest depths of my psyche. I felt my phone from the inside of my pocket ring and upon opening it saw a message from my Mother telling me to meet her outside the cafeteria. I shrugged and started walking towards the exit.

It seemed that _she_ also had the same thing in mind since she stood up at the same moment as I, but instead of walking in the direction that I was facing, she started walking _towards_ me. Hoh, she must be going to one of the people behind the table that I occupied. I saw her right in front of me and, for a split second, I almost stopped dead in my tracks.

 _Almost._

As the distance between us grew shorter, she looked up from the phone that she was holding and looked at me straight in the eye. Even though I have a facemask on, I'm not sure if that will be enough to deceive her. Fortunately, I did my hair differently today, my bangs were quite long until they nearly covered my eyes. Thank God I didn't change my hairstyle before going out since Komachi commented that I looked too edgy.

From the corner of my eye, I felt her eyes rest on mine and I felt that she didn't recognize me, which was a relief. But moments before we completely passed by each other, her eyes widened and her mouth formed into an "O". My cover was blown, but I continued walking without a change in my pace. If I walked faster, it would only cement the idea of who I truly was. So, I walked and maintained my pace.

"Hiki…gaya…?" I heard her voice, barely a whisper. But I heard it clear as day as if my brain had automatically filtered it out from the background noise.

I gulped with difficulty when she said my name.

I didn't stop, and I just kept walking.

I am such a coward.

From the corner of my left eye, I felt a single tear fall and I had to bite my lip to prevent more from coming out

I'm not quite ready to face Orimoto Kaori just yet.

* * *

 ** _Greetings to everyone around [ZA WARUDO] and welcome back!_**

 ** _"What?! Ivanov117 uploaded TWICE in a month?! Who are you and what have you done to him?!" I bet this is what everyone is thinking._**

 ** _Well, I think I should increase the frequency of my update, and since my level of enthusiasm and inspiration for this story has been spiking recently, I think now would be a good time to update._**

 ** _On a side note, it seems that Hikigaya has a health condition...I wonder how would everyone else react...? Hmmm..._**

 ** _If you re-read the previous chapters, you might notice some characters commenting on his unnaturally pale skin, his deteriorating health and the tiredness in his eyes. If you managed to spot that, kudos to you! I'd also like everyone to pay extra attention on how Hikigaya addresses the people around him, you'll find some clues on what will happen in the near future! Oh and Day 1 was when Hikigaya was picked up by his Father, which was Thursday._**

 ** _If you have some comments, suggestions or just whatever came to your mind when you read this, feel free to leave a review or PM me!_**

 ** _As always, thank you for reading!_**

 ** _Ivanov117 out!_**

 ** _*teleports behind you*_**

 ** _"Don't forget to smash that MF like and subscribe button!"_**

 ** _*dabs and Naruto-runs away*_**


	21. His Return

It's been two weeks since the abrupt disappearance of Hikigaya-kun. That said, it was expected that some rumors and gossip would arise. Some in our class were even talking about the possibility that he had transferred overseas, or that he transferred to a more prestigious school in Tokyo. It reached to the point where my curiosity on the matter could not be contained any longer, so I asked the person whom I thought he was closest with. When I asked the President of the Student Council, Shiromeguri Meguri-senpai, she too had little information, on his current status, only that he was sick. I was going to ask my Father to ask his Father on my behalf, but I figured that it would be… _inappropriate._ The teachers made it clear that he was sick whenever someone asked for his whereabouts. But on what specific illness he had, they refused to tell.

I came to school earlier than usual, and upon arriving to the classroom, went straight for my seat. As time went on, our room slowly but surely began to fill up with students, along with the chatter that they were making. I opened a book that I brought with me from my apartment and began reading. I recall seeing several Manga on the bookstore that I frequent during the other day, and it reminded me of him.

Hiratsuka-sensei soon arrived and started our lesson for the day. Not five minutes had passed since she started when the door to our room slid to the left and revealing who the person behind it.

And the said person was…

Oh my…

I expected him to look sickly and frail, but on the contrary, he looked as though he was nursed to health by Apollo himself. One of the more obvious changes was his hair, it was still long, but not long enough for it to look messy. Though he still looked pale, he had some color on his face now unlike his unnaturally pale complexion from before that I would almost always point out. Unfortunately, he would always brush me off whenever I told him that. The dark circles under his eyes were almost completely gone, which made his eyes look less "sleepy-looking". As for his eyes, they still look sharp as ever. Still sharp as always.

"My apologies for being late." He said in a bored tone and bowed in apology to Sensei, who was still staring at him wide-eyed.

After that, he calmly walked to his seat without a care in the world. Our eyes met when he was walking to his seat and he gave me a nod of acknowledgement, and I returned one of my own.

When classes started, I would sneak glances at him to see what he was doing out of curiosity, mostly out of boredom and also to see any changes to his mannerisms in class since it has been two weeks after all. During our Algebra class when Sensei was writing down equations and formulas on the board, I saw him just starting at her. But it was not the "blankly staring" kind of stare, his eyes still looked quite sharp and alert. It was at that moment that I saw his right hand which held his pen move above his notebook. At first, I thought he was just mindlessly moving it around, just like what one does when boredom strikes, but I saw that the movements were deliberate. Huh, even _I_ do not possess the ability to write down notes without looking down on them for long periods of time.

Truly, what a peculiar sight to behold.

Even more surprising, was the fact that he was updated with our topics on all of our subjects, he did not fail to answer every question that our teachers threw at him, to their pleasant surprise. Who was the one who fed him information, I wonder…?

When lunchtime arrived, he was asked by several students, and a small circle formed and surrounded his seat. The questions were mostly about the reason for his absence, and I listened closely to his answers. It seems that after catching a cold, he was sent to the hospital for a check-up and then bedridden for a few days at home. He said nothing about his particular illness, and no one in class was brave enough to ask him directly about it, since even he was hesitating. Try as he might, he can't hide his feeling of discomfort from my keen eyes.

His seat-mates invited him to join them for lunch, but he politely declined saying he has to go to the faculty room to submit all of his projects and homework during the time of his absence. They nodded in understanding, and as soon as he went out of the door, they harbored disappointed expressions on their faces.

"Yukinoshita, can you give this to Hikigaya? He accidentally gave this homework to me that was supposed to be for his other subject." Sensei approached me and I nodded obediently as I stood up. Knowing how fast he walks; I have to make haste to catch up to him. Goodness, and here I was about to enjoy some peace and quiet while eating my lunch in the classroom…

A few moments later, I saw his figure walking towards the faculty room and a few times some students greeted him, and he courteously greeted them back in return. Though after passing them by, he would scratch his head, almost as if he was wondering who those people were. But since it is him we are talking about, that's probably that case.

I remember meeting him here at school before classes started, and even though we were acquainted before that time, he had momentarily forgotten who I was. At first I was appalled, but then I saw that he wasn't lying.

"Did you need something?" He said when I finally caught his attention just before he could open the door to the faculty room. Goodness, how rude. Sometimes he's stiffly polite, and then the next second he's outright rude to me.

"I see your illness took away your ability to properly greet people with the respect they deserve." I say in exasperation.

"Well, you're not wrong, to say the least." He yawned while covering his mouth and shrugged "Good morning. That was rude of me. My apologies."

"Good morning. Sensei told me to give this to you. He said that it was for your other subject." I hand him the papers with both hands. There were quite a few since the number of homework and projects that we received increased these past few days.

He blinked twice and cocked his head to the side when he received them, and then gave out an "Ah." After flipping several pages or so.

"Hoh, so that's where these went. My thanks." He muttered and one of the papers fell to the ground. I knelt down and retrieved it, when I flipped it over, I was surprised at what I saw.

It was a drawing, a beautiful one at that. The figure was a female with long black hair and black thigh-high stockings wearing a standard Japanese-style school uniform. From the amount of detail in this work of art, one can say without a doubt that the creator of this had a clear vision in mind and was skilled. She crossed her legs while eating peacefully under the shade of a tree. Using her left hand, she tucked several strands of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes were also covered by her bangs. Whether this was deliberate, or the creator had too little time to focus on the eyes, I could not tell. Though the point-of-view of the drawing was strange, since much of the girl's thighs were visible to the viewer.

"This is quite impressive. Did you make this?" I say when I gave it back to him.

"Y-Yes." He replied with wide eyes and a light blush on his pale cheeks and quickly took the paper.

Wait.

Did he just…?

Did he just _stutter_?

The most stoic, serious and uptight person I know in school, who is both widely feared and respected is flustered?

He cleared his throat, and the rosy tinge on his face disappeared a second later. "Anyway, thank you." I was impressed by how he quickly regained his composure, almost like he practices this every morning in-front of a mirror in his room.

"Would you care to join me for lunch?" I say with the main reason why I'm doing this is to interroga-I mean, _ask_ him on the cause of his absence. When it comes to things like these, I was always the curious type, and I believe he will not mind if I ask him a question or two.

"Sorry, I'm eating with someone after this." He discreetly looked at his _Rolex_ watch and tapped his foot. Whether he did that subconsciously or not, I read the message loud and clear.

"I see, some other time then, perhaps."

"Perhaps." With that, he bade me farewell and closed the door behind him, leaving me alone in front of the door.

* * *

 _Haaahh_

 _haaah_

 _huuuufff_

 _* 3*_

Good grief, these stairs are seriously going to kill me. Looks like my Doctor was right, it will take a long while before I return to the peak of my original physical performance… Even the short flight of stairs earlier made me stop to catch my breath, with the destination I have in mind, I'll surely get even more tired. After what felt like an eternity, I finally reached the top and opened that door that was in front of me and I was momentarily blinded by the sunlight.

Good grief, I don't want to collapse on a flight of stairs.

Breathing in the air and looking around, I confirmed that I was in fact alone. Ah, being by yourself is truly the best feeling in the world. Nothing beats eating peacefully under the shade on the roof of your school building. With my new and bigger lunch box in hand, I sat down on the floor where there was shade and opened it to see its contents.

I was forbidden from doing many things, like cleaning the house, riding my bike, walking to school, cooking, washing my clothes, exercising, lifting anything heavy and other trivial stuff. Basically, anything that might require me to exert physical effort to a certain extent. My parents made this clear after the day I got a check-up at the hospital, they even threatened to take away my debit card what the heck. It's not like I'm gonna die if I lift a kilogram or two. It was also during that day that I had seen _her_ of all people _._

I would prefer not to talk about it.

Anyway, the food I had was a mess of vegetables, rice and slices of premium beef that my Mother made this morning. I have no qualms with my Mother's cooking, just her arrangement in my bento got me triggered and my instinct to organize it before eating kicked in. I owe my Mother and Komachi a lot since they were the ones who took care of me. Komachi especially, would sleep in my room to keep me company and check my temperature. She said that I was extra touchy-feely when I was sick, but I don't remember doing anything touchy-feely to her. My memories of the days that I was bedridden were blurry, to say the least.

The early spring weather is quite pleasant, a gentle breeze softly caressed my skin like how an ara ara Onee-san would pat her little brother's head. Ah, I wish I had an ara ara Onee-san to spoil me rotten, just like how I spoiled Komachi when she was little. Wait, I spoil her even until now…

 _ **"That's nice and all but weren't you eating with someone today? Yukinoshita invited you to lunch earlier, but you declined. "**_

Ah, the person that I'm eating with today, is…well myself. Don't judge me if I want to eat by myself, what's wrong with that? And I didn't lie, I _am_ eating with someone. There are innumerable entities within this vessel. Knowledge contained and stored over the millennium of reincarnation, and _soul-splitting_ , wherein a single soul splits and inhibits the body of two separate people, and then centuries or so later, returning as one along with the memories and knowledge they acquired. In my previous life, I was a simple fisherman from Kagoshima, the one before that, I was an artisan, an engineer, a slaver, a merchant, a mercenary, a teacher, a wife of a powerful Lord, an admiral, a treasure hunter, a rebel. So many lifetimes from different eras and places around the world. I dunno, I just made that up right now.

 _ **"That's an interesting idea for a Light Novel, to be honest. "**_

Ugh, looking back, she saw my drawing. That was super embarrassing. The one that I based my final output on the drawing I made a few days ago, this time I added a more detailed scenery and a vibrant background. The coloring was a pain in the ass though. The reason why it was embarrassing for me, was because I made the girl on what I imagined how I would look like if I was one. Added to the fact that that the image was also based on the covers of my ecchi manga...If she discovered the reason, I know she'll make a conceited look on her face, while her eyes are slightly shadowed, with only the reflection of her pupils visible and say:

" _So, you visualized yourself as a female and drew it for homework for our Arts Class? How disgustingly cute."_

I'm already feeling the chills running down my spine. Even _I_ would literally die of embarrassment if someone, especially _her,_ said that to my face.

* * *

"HIKIGAYA-KUUUUUUNNN~~!"

Aww here we go again.

After having the wind literally knocked out of me, Shiromeguri-senpai's arms wrapped around me like a Boa Constrictor squeezing the life out of their prey. Wait, am I the prey? Am I about to be devoured by my Onee-san figure? Well, I can't necessarily say that that's a bad way to go. So, please carry on Senpai, violently squeeze the life out of me and free me from my fleshy prison. You know, aside from the bone crushing force that's being applied to my ribs, I can also feel something else that's pushing into my chest.

"It's good to see you too Shiromeguri-senpai." I say.

"Yup! Good to see that you're back! I really missed my kouhai! It feels weird having lunch with Tatsumi-san without you during the weekends." She let go and patted my head. Oh yes, I missed her headpats. Being so close to the source of the Fluffy and Bubbly aura, I greatly felt its effects and my mood started to lighten up.

After classes ended, I went straight to the Student Council Office to see if Shiromeguri-senpai or the other members still has some work for me to do, if some teachers left homework and projects for me to do while I was absent. I was going through my "corner" when the door opened, and Shiromeguri-senpai suddenly assaulted me.

With both of her hands, Shiromeguri-senpai grabbed both of my cheeks, not my ass cheeks mind you, and started feeling and moving them around.

"Senpowai whoat are yuo dooinnge?" I managed to mumble out.

"Nothing, I just felt like pinching your cheeks since the don't look deathly thin anymore. Well, you are still quite scrawny, but you get it." She said and continued. Uwah, that was a thinly-veiled insult, was it? Even Kei-chan isn't exempt from making comments like that. I remember her saying that I looked like an _"Extra pale vampire that hasn't sucked blood in a bazillion years."_ Good grief, even little kids are making fun of me.

"Ok!" she said and put her hands on her hips with a satisfied look on her face, "What does my recently-brought-back-to-life kouhai need that he came here today?"

"I was wondering if the teachers or the Principal left something for me to do." I reply.

"Nope! We already did your workload while you were gone."

"Oh, I see. Sorry for being a burden." I scratched my head and apologized. Huh, is this the guilty feeling that corporate slaves feel when one of their co-workers do overtime in their stead?

"Don't be silly, we're all in the same boat, Hikigaya-kun. Anyway, how are you feeling and do you mind telling me what happened these past two weeks?" She asked. Shiromeguri-senpai is one of the very few people that I trust, and someone that I look up to and call…well…a _friend_ , so I did not hesitate in telling her all that had transpired and answered all of her questions, the talk went on for quite a while.

 _ **"Aww that's so cute. Hikigaya finally called someone a friend. "**_

 _ ***Wipes tear from eye***_

S-Shut up!

"Hooh, and how did Tatsumi-sensei react?" She asked. Shiromeguri-senpai had quit the Taekwondo after around four weeks since she can't balance everything all at once, her exact words were _"There's too much food on my plate and I can't eat all of it."._ Being a 2nd year, as well being the President of the Student Council can really fill your daily schedule. Not to mention having two part-time jobs on the weekends and some days on the weekdays...

"She said that she feels guilty, even when she saw the signs of my Anemia, and dropped hints here and there. In the end, I was the one at fault since I'm stubborn, or maybe I didn't understand what the underlying meaning in her words was." I say and shrugged.

"Umu, you should always listen to what others have to say, especially to your elders, Hikigaya-kun!" she said and lightly smacked my head.

"Yes, Senpai…" I just bowed and accepted defeat since she was right.

"That's better. Now, what about your medication? Don't forget to take them on time, and you have to eat a lot before taking them since some of them are pretty strong, ok? Otherwise, you'll hurt your tummy." Shiromeguri-senpai said and waddled her finger around, like a mother explaining something to her child.

"Yes, Senpai…"

"Sooooo when are you allowed to go back to our part-time job?" She asked.

"I'm not very sure myself. Unless my parents approve it, I'm still banned from working and doing anything that puts my body into too much stress."

"Hmm, ok. Oh, we have already finalized the all the paperwork for the field trip, we already have the tickets, and the camp site is already booked and is waiting for our arrival next week. Me and the others already went ahead to inspect the area, together with the Principal and some teachers, and they gave green light."

"Ah, is that so…" I had completely forgotten about the field trip event; it didn't cross my mind once. Perhaps _that_ was the nagging feeling behind my head that I would think about often…

"Senpai, if I still feel unwell next week, I would like to be excused of this event." I say. I still remember that day that I played Tennis with Miura-san, when I fainted right after the game. I woke up to her slapping me with a panicked and very worried-looking face. After I woke up and got a hold of myself, we went to the nearby convenient store to buy some water since I badly needed it that time. She even went so far as to offer to walk me home, to which I vehemently declined. Good grief, my pride as a man would NOT allow it, it should me escorting _her_ home instead of the other way around! Well, Miura-san has a pretty strong personality, so I doubt there would be any need for me to escort her abode.

Anyway, my point is that if I stress out my body with too much physical labor, I might pass out in an ungraceful manner. It was good that a kind soul like Miura-san was kind enough to wait for me and wake me up, but what if my classmates would just leave me on the ground and poke my dying form with a stick? Good grief, the Ice Queen might even sit on a chair in front of me, cross her legs and demand me to lick her shoe if I desired her assistance. It would be bad if I passed out in the middle of chopping wood, and I hit my head on a rock and I would die due to internal bleeding.

Or if I suddenly feel faint while swimming, and then I drown. Well, that's assuming that the place had a pool or a river...

Or if I trip while hiking, which would cause me to fall down the mountainside and break a dozen bones on my body.

Or if I -

 _ **"OK HIKIGAYA WE GET IT STOP WITH THE DEATH FLAGS YOU'RE MAKING US UNCOMFORTABLE! "**_

My apologies if my paranoia is off the charts.

"Ah, that's understandable. That's why you should get well as fast as possible! Oh yes, I almost forgot. We received a letter of invitation from the Association of Schools in Chiba. "She said an handed me a envelope that contained the said letter inside. "It's basically a- "What she was going to say was cut short when my phone rang, causing me to quickly retrieve it and see who it was. When I saw that it was from my Father, I turned to Shiromeguri-senpai and said, "I'm sorry, Senpai, it's from my Father.", to which she nodded and shooed me away outside the room to give me some privacy. Thankfully, there very few students around.

 _"Hachiman, I'm outside your school to pick you up."_ I heard my Father's voice from the other end of the line. Ah, I forgot that I was to be picked up from now on…

"Sorry, I'm going there right away." I say and ended the call.

When I went back inside the room, Shiromeguri-senpai was already in-front of the computer with a notebook in hand, her eyes darting to the screen and page respectively. "Senpai, my Father is here to pick me up." I say and pick up my bag.

"Ah, so soon? I wanted to talk some more."

"What's inside the letter about anyway?" I ask just before I was about to turn the handle of the door and leave.

"It's a surprise~! Open it yourself and see~!" She said in a sing-a-song voice.

"Well, see you tomorrow then Hikigaya-kun~!" She smiled and waved at me, and I returned one of my own out of courtesy.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I closed the door behind me and started walking to my destination. Even though walking down the stairs is easier compared to walking up, I still had the occasional shallow breathing or two. I finally reached exited the building and my Father's pitch-black car was soon within my sights, and him standing and leaning on the door while talking to someone on the phone. He wore his usual corporate suit, but his hair was slightly untidy and his eyes looked tired.

"-ick up Komachi after Hachiman, yes I'm outside his school and- oh, he's here already, ok, I'll see you tonight." My Father ended the call and put it back in his pocket.

"Mother?"

He nodded and opened the door for me, to which I went inside bag first and sat beside the driver's seat. But not before I heard the voices of a group of students nearby who were most likely waiting for their other companions to arrive. From the corner of my eye, I confirmed that they were all females, going to hang-out after school in the mall or something. Typical riajuu behavior.

" _Isn't he the big fish who's the Head of the Committee something?"_ One of them asked.

" _It's the Disciplinary Committee, you idiot."_ Another replied, sounding harsh, but it's clear that she meant no harm.

" _Yeah, that's one expensive-looking car though hot damn."_

" _I didn't know that you were a car-guy, I mean car-girl, Junko."_ This one said in a curious tone

" _Hey don't blame me, my older brothers and my Dad always talk about that stuff."_

" _Yep, that's him, the one who topped the entrance exams and all the exams that followed to-date."_

I sighed and closed my eyes, continuing listen to what they're saying would only cause my current headache to worsen. Good grief, sometimes having enhanced senses thanks to my **STAND: [ 108 LONER SKILLS ]** , can be such a pain. You tend to hear things that you would rather not hear.

 _ ***Hikigaya, your chunni-ness is showing. ***_

Silence mongrel.

"Your Mother is at the supermarket right now; do you want anything in particular?" My Father asked as he turned on the engine of the car.

"Hmm, some grapes would be nice." I said and he nodded and texted my request to my Mother. I remembered the letter the Senpai gave me and I retrieved it from my bag. Turning it around, it had the official seal of the local government.

Huh, I wonder what this is...?

* * *

 _ **Here's the new chapter my dudes and dudettes.**_

 _ **Can't think of anything worthy to put here...**_

 _ **So...yeah.**_

 _ **Please enjoy this and look forward to the next chapter!**_


	22. To Him, Camping is Quite Vexing

School camping activities are such a hassle. So many things to prepare and take into consideration. Even more so if you are a Class Rep, and EVEN MORE as a member of the Student Council. Reports, memos, notices, letters, waivers and other paperwork that makes my headache. Had I known the amount of work to be done was this large, I would have declined Shiromeguri-senpai's offer for the vacant seat in the Student Council last year. But I did not want to disappoint Shiromeguri-senpai and my parents, so I just accepted the offer.

I had to temporarily surrender my position as Class Rep to Yukinoshita since we had extra work to be done in the Student Council with the graduation of the Third-Years are only a few weeks away. She said that she didn't need help since she can do it alone, her strength was admirable, to say the least. I voiced my concern, of course, saying that the burden might be too much for her to bear, but she just frowned and said "You underestimate me, Hikigaya-kun." and walked away. Uwaahhh, that was so typical of her, and I nearly called her out and spit venom, but I figured that was too petty of me. Well, if the workload becomes too much for her, at least I'll get the satisfaction of saying "I told you so." to her.

"Hachiman, what are you thinking about? You look deep in thought." My Father's voice broke the silence inside the car.

"Nothing much." I say and returned my attention to the quickly passing scenery on my left. We had left Tokyo an hour and a half ago. The tall skyscrapers still imposing from this distance, and we can see smog that huddled around the city like a winter jacket. The highway that we're on right now led to the Shizuoka Prefecture, and its my first time here. If I open the top window of the car, I'm sure I can see Fuji-san once I take a good look around. But that is too dangerous, since we're traveling at 95 kp/h.

To my parent's insistence, I was to be dropped off by my Father at the site instead of taking the bus like everyone else. I wanted to ride with my class on the bus, but a stern look from my Mother made me gulp down any complaints that I would throw at them. My Father was kind enough to take time from his busy hectic schedule to drop me off.

Following the navigation system installed in the car, we turned to a forested area, and after several minutes, came into a clearing with a few cars parked and the main building where the employees entertained the guests. We parked, and I immediately got out and retrieved my bag that contained all the necessary things that I would need for the duration of our stay here. Of course, I brought Vita-chan with me, and a small pocket book about philosophy that I bought from the 2nd hand bookstore a few days ago.

"You have everything with you?" My Father asked as I was checking my belongings to make sure I didn't leave anything important.

"I think so." I say as I lifted the bag to my shoulder.

"Ok. Have fun and be careful out there. Remember not to do anything that might stress you out."

"Haiiiiii…"

"Well, I'll see you in a few days since I'll be gone."

With that, I bade my Father farewell and watched him drive out of the clearing and back to the road that would lead him to the highway.

Upon closer inspection, I saw my fellow First Years grouped a small distance away with their respective class advisers and class reps in front of them. I quickly walked to them, eager to get to the shade as fast as possible.

"Hikigaya-kun! Thank goodness you're here. Please be a dear and make a head count of all the First Year classes, ok~?" Shiromeguri-senpai jumped at me from out of nowhere, handed me a paper pad holder, and then ran off to where the teachers were. Good grief, I didn't even have time to get my bearings, and there is already work to be done. I went to where my class was, and sure enough Yukinoshita was there in front waiting for further instructions from the teachers.

To get her attention, and also to annoy her, I used the pad holder that Shiromeguri-senpai gave me to lightly hit the unaware Yukinoshita on the head. She was startled and turned to see who was daring enough to hit the Ice Queen on the head.

Of course, only I, The Monotonous King, or Hachiman The Unfeeling, has the balls to do that.

"Don't do that." She said and leered threateningly at me.

"So what's happening right now?" I dismissed her hostility and crossed my arms around my chest, looking at the different faces of our class lined up. She narrowed her eyes at me one last time and sighed in exasperation.

"Everything is going smoothly so far; we're just waiting for the last bus that is carrying some of the late comers."

"I thought you weren't coming, since you didn't ride on the bus with us…?" She asked with a questioning tone. Well, that reaction is expected, since I did not tell anyone after the final orientation yesterday that I would be coming here on my Father's car…

I just shrugged at her and she gave me a deadpan look. "Have you checked the class inventory? About the food ingredients for the following days?" I asked.

"Yes."

I nodded at her, and returned my attention to the pad that I held. I then began walking around the lines of our class doing a head count on everyone, and only four were unaccounted for. They all had excited looks on their faces with their backpacks and sling bags and other necessities needed for a typical camping trip. Most of the girls looked pretty bored, many of them complaining about everything and taking photos of themselves. The guys on the other hand were restless and eager to move on to the next phase instead of just standing around here.

After doing the headcount of my class, I went to the other First Year classes and told their respective Class Reps to do the headcount and report to me after fifteen minutes. I watched with satisfaction as they diligently followed what I said and hurried back to their lines. Ah, it feels good to be the one ordering around. I won't deny that being a member of the Student Council has it's perks. Go my workers, work for the hive with all you have, for I am your Quee-, I mean, King!

When I came back to my class, the teachers about to start giving instructions, to which everyone listened very closely. Since I had already read the list of activities today and for the next two days, I went through the list of our inventory and equipment. I felt someone poke my shoulder, "Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita's cold voice reached my ears and I turned my head to her.

Wordlessly, she motioned with her eyes to look behind me, which I did, and saw a lady wearing a sunglasses and a camouflage cap waving in our general direction. She wore ripped jeans and a simple black t-shirt, but even if she's wearing a red evening gown or a potato sack, I know who that person is. What a good older sister, looking out for her somewhat cold imotou and all.

"Oh, she's here." I say in a dull tone as I observed her older sister from afar. It seems she spotted me and the frequency of her waving has increased tenfold. What does she want with me? The last time I saw her was…when they gave me a ride right after that tiresome school event, if memory serves right.

"Yes, it seems that she wants to speak to you." She said as she viewed her elder sister with the same nonchalant dull-look that I have on right now.

"Hm, any idea about what, exactly?"

She rolled her eyes in a very unYukinoshita-like fashion and said, "Goodness, why don't you just go to talk to her and find out yourself?"

"Will do Ma'am." I started walking to where Haruno-san was staying, right under the shade of a tree right on the edge of the parking area. The closer I got, the more her smile grew. She didn't carry a bag or anything, I'm assuming that their car is somewhere parked here, waiting for her to depart from the area. But still, she has way too much time coming here.

"Yosh, Hikigaya-kun! You're looking well-dressed today." She said and placed her hands on her hips.

"Good Morning Haruno _-nee-san_. Thank you, though I don't feel well-dressed at all."I replied, causing her smile grew even wider. I was just wearing a simple white buttoned polo shirt and light brown shorts and sandals. Without socks, by the way. Sandals with socks look funny, especially when western tourists wear it.

"Hmm!" She said and sat down on the base of the tree, she looked up at me and patted the ground beside her. I quietly sighed and did what she bade me to do. I sat down and a small distance away from her, the grass was also dry, which was a relief. She didn't say anything and just continued staring off into space.

"So, is there any particular reason why you called me?" I say after a minute or two of silence. A calm breeze washed over us, and a few leaves fell from the tree above us. When I looked above, I locked eyes with a small bird, it's beady eyes looking at me and cocked it's head, as if curious of our presence.

"Yes, I have a favor to ask you." She replied.

"Hmm…"

She turned to me, and from the corner of my eye, she had a worried look on her face and a troubled smile.

"I know it's a rather tall order, but would you…take care of Yukino-chan?" she said.

Goodness, I thought it was something serious, not something as trivial as this.

"Of course I'll take care of her." I say too quickly.

My reply caught her by surprise, and caused her eyes to widen and her mouth to form into an "O".

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. "I'll take care of everyone in my class." was what I meant." I waved my hand and apologized. I should have worded it better. "If something bad happened to one of them, which I pray doesn't happen, the Principal would have our heads. Plus, it would make me look bad. I mean, as the only class that has a class rep that is also a member of the Student Council, I have to be extra careful since many of the teacher's eyes are on me. Not to mention that I have to keep a close eye on the other classes and make sure that no one is fooling around." I say.

She pouted while slowly nodding and having a look of understanding, which looked quite funny and out-of-place. "Looks like the teachers have high expectations on you." She said and I couldn't help but agree. I feel like I gave out too much information, which is something I never do. But I think Haruno-san is a good person. I mean, she did give me a ride the last time we met, and she always treated me like a kouhai and, to her self-proclamation, a little brother. I call her Nee-san but there is no depth to what I say, I just go along with whatever she says so she'll stop bothering me.

"Yukino-chan is really looking forward to this, she was more vocal to Mother on her reasons for coming." She said.

"..." I say nothing, and instead reflect on her words and the deeper meaning behind it.

Haruno-san just confirmed my suspicions on their family. As one of the prominent families here in Chiba, it would make sense for their parents to be extra strict on their children, especially when they were daughters. Yukinoshita was sheltered, and even though her intelligence is unquestionable, there were some very basic things that she didn't know and things that she can't relate too. Being bad at directions from always traveling in their family car with her driver, her unfamiliarity with those cheap street foods and her inability to properly connect with people. And with what she just said, it would mean that their Mother is strict and does not easily allow her daughters to do whatever they want.

Typical rich people problems, I guess.

"Just…keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything that might hurt herself." She said.

"She's a Class Rep and ranked 2nd in our Year's rankings, I'm confident that she won't need my help. It's almost like you're saying that she's the clumsy type." I say back, though at the back of my mind I was annoyed at the thought of babysitting Yukinoshita during our stay here. I already have a full plate and I have no intention of biting off more that I can chew, thank you very much. And I don't want to add babysitting a spoiled holier-than-thou Ojou-sama to my to-do-list.

Wait…the last part came out wrong…

"And who do you think is preventing her from being ranked 1st?" She said with feigned ignorance with an innocent smile at me.

"Oh please, she'll have to try harder of she wants to be ranked 1st." I say while rolling my eyes, my voice literally dripping with pride and arrogance. I would always tease Yukinoshita about being ranked 2nd, and her reaction is always predictable and the same. Her left eyes would twitch, while she tried her best on maintaining her calm and composed smile while verbally attacking my eyes and appearance.

She laughed light-heartedly at my words with no malice hiding behind them. Just, a refreshing laugh.

After that, Haruno-san started talking about the recent happening in her college life. Basically, just hearing her complain and whine about her subjects, homework, projects and additional extra-curricular activities. She said that her favorite subjects were those related to business. No surprise since her father is a businessman and part of the local Diet after all, it wouldn't be a surprise if after graduation, she would follow her Father's footsteps and one day replace him in their company.

"Oh yeah, I heard that you got sick the other week." She turned to me with a look that said "Tell me more, I'm curious."

"It was nothing, just mild anemia." I say.

"What?! Anemia is not a joke, Hikigaya-kun! It's a condition, that if not treated earlier and properly, can become a serious concern in the future." She exclaimed.

"Yes, I know all of that. But I'm fine now." I dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand, but she still didn't look convinced. After sighing to herself in resignation, she added, "Well, if that's what you say…".

"So!" Haruno-san exclaimed as she clapped her hands to get my attention "Do you accept my request?" She said and turned at me with an expectant look.

"Ugh, that's literally part of my responsibility now…" I say as I held my temples, saying something again and again is bad for my head. Not to mention that it's starting to get irritating.

"Hehe, I'll take that as a yes then~." Haruno-san chimed with a satisfied smile on her face. "Don't worry Hikigaya-kun, I'll make sure to return the favour. You never know that having me indebted to you might come in handy in the future, you know~?"

"Wait…" I say since something that she said really bugged me, "how did you hear about my condition?" I asked.

"Ah, well our Fathers have a mutual friend that had her birthday last week, and since Yukino-chan didn't want to go, I went there in her stead. I…ugh… _heard,_ about it when the two of them were talking. Hehehe…" She had a mischievous laugh and her reply surprised me.

"And by heard, you mean eavesdrop, am I right?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw Haruno-san wink at me and laugh, and I just shrugged and watched as the final bus arrived.

* * *

"You know, you should close your eyes at the last second when chopping wood. What if a sharp splinter flies right to your eyes?" I say as I watched a small group of First Years chopping firewood in front of me. Their reaction was immediate, wide eyes with an utterly horrified expression on their faces, as their minds began processing a detailed image of what I just said.

"H-Hey! Not cool!" Hearing their complaints caused a sadistic smile to form on my face. As I snickered at myself and walked away from them, the smell of something burnt from overcooking made me stop in my tracks. I located the source to one of the small grilling stations nearby, and saw a lone figure helplessly looking at the charred remains of her would-be lunch. Feeling bored since I have nothing else to do, and also because it was someone that I knew, I walked to where she was cooking.

Yuigahama-san looked pitiful; she turned the overcooked food over to see if all of it was charred. Unfortunately for her, it was. Looking around as I approached her, she was alone, and a small tray of raw meat were right beside the grill. She also wore an apron around herself with a cartoon character at the front. Her peach-colored hair was also neatly in place with a headband. Was she experimenting all on her own…?

"So, this is where the burnt smell came from…" I say when I was within earshot. She quipped when she heard my voice and gave me a troubled smile.

"Oh, hello Hikigaya-kun…" She said as she scratched her head.

"Hmm, where is the rest of your class?" I asked.

"Oh, they're unpacking their things in the lodges. The boys went to the woods, while most of the girls went back to the lodges, since they're still a bit stressed from the bus." True, I did see a small group of boys run to the woods before I could call out to them. I'll have to tell their Class Rep to be more watchful later…

I nodded at her and proceeded to inspect the black fruits of her labor. "Ugh, what had these poor chickens done for you to burn them this badly…?" I say after confirming that they are, "Fucked up beyond recognition.".

Please do pardon my language.

"I know, I messed up…" She said in a crestfallen tone and sulked, I can already see the dark violet lines that show whenever a character in a manga or anime would feel sad or depressed.

Seeing a pink spare apron near the benches, I wordlessly went to it and wore it around myself. The cartoon character that I had on me was a brown bear. Yuigahama-san looked at me with a curious expression, and when she understood what I was doing, she looked elated and stood straighter.

"I'll show you how its done." I say as I tied the loose cloth behind my back. Hmm, that sounded a little too arrogant, for my taste…

"If you'll have me, of course." I added.

"Please teach me, Sensei!" She perked at my words with a grateful look.

* * *

"The first thing you need to do is to know what you're dealing with." I say as I handled the raw meat that was laid in-front of me.

"Fish is the most delicate, followed by chicken, pork and beef. The last two are interchangeable depending on the cut. Before putting them on the grill, you have to know how much heat you're giving them on each side." I took a piece of beef with my hand and slowly put in on the grill.

"Lets start with beef first. Since this is a thin strip of meat, it cooks faster than, lets say, a medium-sized slab of pork. That also depends on the intensity of the heat. " The beef was slowly cooking, and I turned it to cook the top side.

"See? That didn't take too long." After a few moments, the beef was edible, and I put it on a clean plate that Yuigahama-san was kind enough to provide.

All this time, her eyes were glued to the grill, focused and absorbing everything that I was saying to her. Whenever I said anything, she would vigorously nod her head. She tried touching the chicken earlier, but I swatted her hand away and told her that she should wash her hands first, as is customary when cooking anything. She quickly washed her hands and went back to my side in a flash.

"Ok, now you try." I hand her the tongs and her delicate fingers brushed against mine, I then stepped back to give her some space.

I lightly tapped her shoulder. "You're too close to the fire, step back a bit. A sudden ember might startle you." She silently complied on what I bid her to do. Since I judged that she was doing fine so far, I went to where the ingredients were and started marinating the meat with the condiments that were there. Soy sauce, barbecue seasoning, pepper, salt and lemon where all they had, so I mixed them all together in different amount and put them in a plastic tupperware.

"What are you doing, Hikigaya-kun?" Yuigahama-san's asked as she leaned down to see what I'm doing.

"I did the liberty of marinating the remaining meat for you. You store these for a few hours for the condiments to soak into the meat. This will be ready just in time for dinner time tonight." I say. When I was younger. the first thing that I learned to do in the kitchen was marinating meat. Since my parents come home late, I just warm whatever leftover food there was in the fridge. Komachi was still very small at that time, so obviously she can't help me in any way. I would prepare and marinate the meat that they bought at night, so they can cook it in the early morning before going to work. Thanks to being exposed to that at an early age, I know my way around spices, sauces and basic culinary knowledge attributed to making your food tastier.

"Oh, you didn't have to go that far…" Yuigahama-san said and went back to check the meat.

"Nonsense, I did this because I wanted to." I closed the lid on the last container and stood up from the bench to wash my hands. I stopped to see how her cooking was going, and I grunted to myself in satisfaction when I saw that she already made a fresh batch on the table. "Ha! This was easier than I thought!" she exclaimed and laughed to herself with her chest out and her hands on her hips. Celebrating at a trivial victory too early will always end up badly…

After I dried my hands, I went back to her to find her sitting down on the bench waiting for me to try the food that she cooked. Goodness, what a cocky grin that you have, Yuigahama-san, it would be a shame if, by pure chance, the meat that you grilled tasted out of the ordinary…

"Fufufu, I'm done!" She said when I sat down on the other side of the table in-front of her.

"Hmm…they look good…" I comment to fuel her ego, and her immediate reaction was as expected, being more full of herself and laughing with her chest out. Yuigahama-san, if you keep laughing like that, I fear that your melons might break free from their bonds, hit me in the face with the energy of a thousand Tzar Bomba's, causing me to break my neck and die. I noticed that the meat was shiny, which was not unusual if you dipped it in sauces or cooking oil before grilling it. Even though without those two, the meat's natural oil will always come out when exposed to high temperature. Although, there's something strange about it, and I can't explain why…

"Well, I'll go first…" I say as I picked up a strip of beef with my bare-hands. It felt crispy, and I moved it towards my mouth to take a bite out of it.

I had to blink twice and have a moment to process what I just tasted while Yuigahama-san looked at me with an expectant expression, eager for me to praise and commend her food. I slowly chewed the food in my mouth, making sure that what I am tasting right now is definitely what I'm thinking it is. "Yui…gahama-san…" I finally say after managing to collect my consciousness since the moment I took the food into my mouth, my mind literally blew into all directions.

"Hmm?"

"What did you put in this…?" I said with a straight face and forcefully swallowed what I just ate and put down the remaining food that I had on my hand.

"Salt!" She exclaimed and reached out to where the ingredients were and grabbed the "salt" dispenser. I slowly nodded to her and took it from her hand. Wordlessly, I opened the lid and examined it's contents.

"Are you sure that this is salt?" I asked her.

"Of course!"

"I see, why don't you eat it then?" Yuigahama-san nodded at me and proceeded to bite into the piece that had been idle on her hand. After a second of chewing, her face exploded into shock and disgust, and she almost spit the food out to my face.

"BLEH! WHAT'S THIS?!"

"It's sugar, you mistook it for salt." To prove my point, I handed her the small container which contained the " _salt_ ", AKA sugar, so she can see it for herself. I watched her reach into it with her finger and taste it. After confirming that what I just said was true, she made made a look of disdain and put her head on the table, disappointed at herself again. Huh, looks like I was right when I said that celebrating too early is just asking for karma to kick you in the balls. Well, she's a girl, and she obviously doesn't have ba-, ah, nevermind…

"Don't feel too bad, everyone makes mistakes…" I say as I try to cheer her up. I don't like watching depressed people flail and complain about how the world is unfair, it reminds me of my middle-school days, which in turn, causes me to cringe when I think about the cringy stuff I did back then.

"I'm so bad at this, even my Mom doesn't let me near the kitchen at home…" She said to herself and started mumbling incoherent words. Since I did not know what to do in this situation, I just nodded at her words and and looked at the depressed peach-colored girl in front of me with mixture disinterest, contempt and confusion. Sighing to myself, and blaming my onii-chan instincts that have just resurfaced, I reached out my hand to her unmoving form to pat her head in an attempt to uplift her spirits, but I stopped at the last second since touching someone to comfort them is very out-of-character for me. I mean, we're not even friends, and the only person that I can do this to is my dearest little sister. Yuigahama-san might even call me a molester. Instead, I cleared my throat to get her attention, and she looked up at me with those sad-looking brown eyes of hers.

"This isn't a waste though." I say which caused her to tilt her head, and I saw a small spark of hope in her eyes. Seeing that I finally got her attention, I continued, "Since the sweetness stands out too much, you can't eat this as a single dish, but you can use this as an ingredient for another. Mixing this with curry should do the job just fine, the sweetness should be absorbed by the curry, but would not be noticeable. As for the meat, you can just add this to the overall dish as an extra ingredient."

Yuigahama-san sat straight up so fast that it startled me, and I can clearly see the stars in her eyes. "Wow, I didn't know you can do that! I think one of my classmates brought curry to the class!" She reached into one of the grocery bags nearby and fished out a box of curry mix and gave it to me. I'm more impressed how she got that from the bag without looking. Maybe its a skill that all females are innately born with? **_PREDICTIVE EQUIPMENT lvl 10 EX_**.

On the other hand, what? Bringing curry to a camping trip? You know, now that I think about it, it's kind of odd to bring it curry here in the first place. Like, who does that? Seriously?

"This will do." I say and gave it back to her. "I'm sure you don't need my help in making that later, at least one or two of your classmates must know how to cook this." I added. Just thinking that Yuigahama-san will cook this alone makes me nervous and anxious. What secret ingredient will she add next? Tune in on the next episode of **_Yuigahama Yui's Bizarre Adventure: Culinary Storm!_**

"You're surprisingly good at this, Hikigaya-kun." Yuigahama-san said while she rested her chin on her hand and faced me. The way her eyes looked was unnerving, like I was at a job interview or something.

"Haaah? Do you think that just because I'm a guy I don't know my way around the kitchen? Goodness, Yuigahama-san, I did not expect you to be very discriminatory towards the opposite sex. " I asked her with a challenging tone as I arched an eyebrow at her. She shrunk from my gaze and started frantically flailing her hands around, all the while failing to explain herself . Oh no, I must have looked and sounded like a stereotypical high-school delinquent. I mean, there was a time that three delinquent-types were walking towards me on the road. I just finished my part-time job and heading to my Mother's cafe, so it was already evening back then. They were the full package, dyed hair, red contact lenses, ripped jeans and a leather jacket while walking slightly hunched and giving everyone around them a good leer or two. They didn't break eye contact with me and I kept my disinterested gaze at them. When we were near enough, they grinned and nodded at me, and I did the courtesy of nodding at them in return. The other pedestrians started to be wary of me and kept their distance. In the end, I had my own space to myself with a radius of about 1.5 meters.

Am I part of The Hood now…?

"Hey, I'm not mad or anything." I tell her, and she immediately calmed down and had a look of relief. I heard footsteps from afar, and also female voices. Maybe a group of three or four female riajuus chatting away without a care in the world.

"Thanks for the helping me out, Hikki! I owe you one!" Ah, she went back to that nickname, I was hoping that she had forgotten about that. Hikki, Hikio, good grief. Whats my next nickname? Hikitani, Hikibro, Hikiko or HikiAlter? A sudden chill went up my spine, and I had the feeling that I accidentally triggered a flag.

Yes, you do owe me one, Yuigahama-san, and I expect you to come to my aid should I need it in the future.

Yuigahama-san thanked me with a wide smile that made my heart skip a beat. O-Oi, stop smiling at me like that please, you're going to make me feel flustered. Even though I am quite resistant to feminine attacks like these, it doesn't mean that they don't deal damage to my A.T. Field. Though I had to personally thank her in my head since she paved a way for me to escape.

I stood quickly, eager to begin my hasty retreat before the pack of female riajuus make spot me. Since their presence alone would tick me off, it would be best if I go before I outwardly show my displeasure to them.

"Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you around."

"You too, Hikki!"

After giving her a polite albeit too-hasty farewell, I started briskly walking away and turn at the corner, at the same moment, I heard the group of girls jog to where Yuigahama-san was at the grill station where there was shade. The topic of their conversation eluded my sense of hearing as the distance between me and them started to widen.

When I went back to my class, everyone looked at me with curious glances, I caught some guys almost burst out in laughter, while the girls would look away and giggle while covering their mouth. Good grief, whats happening this time? Is there something on my face, or it is my face? Is there a prank on me right now? Did they find out that I always pick the childhood friend or the ara ara Onee-san archtype in my visual novels and dating sims? Or worse, have they discovered my browser history, and now know about my kinks and fetishes?

 ** _*Calm down Hikigaya, we don't need to know about the last part."_**

"Hikigaya-kun! There you are, where were you during the mee-" I heard Shiromeguri-senpai's voice and I turned to her. She was wearing hiking shorts that ended below her knee, a white t-shirt that had the words "My Reality." printed in Latin phonetic cursive letters and a cap of the same color. Shiromeguri-senpai took a good look at me, and then bursted out laughing at the next moment. Oh great she's part of this prank too? Is something wrong with what I'm wear-

When I looked down, I found out that I was still wearing the pink apron that I used in helping Yuigahama-san. The cartoon bear printed at the front even had smudges of food hear and there when I used it to clean my hands.

"Ah." Those were the only words that came out of my mouth as I undid the knot that snugly tied the apron to my body, while Shiromeguri-senpai laughed at my silly look in front of me.

Evening came following an afternoon full of games and activities. I didn't join in any of them since I was forbidden to do any sports-related activities or anything in particular that can physically stress me out. It would be bad if I faint again, after all. Yukinoshita handled the class well and refused my help during those activities and games, which was a relief. Instead, I just watched everything from afar at a nice spot that I found under the shade of a tree and with the novel that I brought with me, I was quite content being by myself at my spot. The location gave me a wide view of the surroundings, and the chirps from the birds nearby had a calming effect on me. It was around 5:00 pm that my class started preparing dinner. I stood up from my spot and proceeded to walk to where they were preparing the ingredients.

"What is our food for tonight? Is everything ok?" I asked a classmate who was cutting green onions on the chopping board. There were around eleven girls all doing their part in preparing the food, from opening the plastic packages that contained fish, to cutting vegetables into bite sized pieces and preparing and mixing the miso soup. The way their hands moved around, I can tell that they knew what they were doing. Unlike a certain peachy airhead I know…

"Oh, Class Rep. Well, Yukinoshita-san decided that we should have fish fillet, some miso soup and steamed vegetables." She replied and stopped what she was doing. I asked them if they needed help with something, and they said that they had everything under control. Seeing that my assistance was not needed, basically all I needed to do right now was to wait for the food to be served.

I went near the small fire a small distance away where there chairs positioned around it. The only occupants where two unfamiliar-looking girls talking amongst each other, they spared me a quick glance and returned to the topic of their conversation.

"I hear that Reina-chan is going to confess tonight!" One said in a whisper, though it doesn't really count as one right now since I heard it from around two and a half meters away…Or maybe my sense of hearing leveled up, I don't know.

"What?! Tonight?! I thought she as just messing around?!" The other replied, barely containing her voice.

"To _him_?"

"Yes! _Him_!" The girls started shrieking and laughing like maniacs from an insane asylum. Their feet started stomping on the ground out of excitement like cavemen doing a primitive mating ritual to attract a potential mate. I cringed as I observed them from the corner of my eye, I feel my IQ decreasing the more I stay in their AOE.

I sighed to myself and stood up, eager to escape this too-personal conversation which I want to be of no part of. I strongly dislike gossip after all. Gossip was one of the things that ruined my middle-school life.

Goodness, even here, I have no solitude.

I headed back to the male-only cabins to charge my phone, since it only had 9% power remaining. You can hear the noise from the inside before you even stepped on the porch. The first floor was the common hall, where you can eat your meals and just sit down and talk. Some of the guys where playing on their portable gaming consoles, others where playing board games and a few had their heads plopped on the table. We shared this cabin with the boys from the other class so it comes to no surprise that I saw several unfamiliar faces.

Oh who am I kidding, there were MANY unfamiliar faces.

I went upstairs and nearly bumped into a guy being chased by an angry-looking shirtless fellow. The latter was babbling about someone drawing the male genitalia on his abdomen. When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the hall erupted in laughter as they beheld his shirtless form with an out-of-place drawing on his stomach. Good grief, I am surrounded by children.

"Oi, no running on the stairs." I called out to the two that just passed me. They muttered their apologies and the shirtless one finally caught his suspect and was currently strangling him. I arrived at my bed and promptly fell on it in exhaustion. To pass the time, I charged my phone while listening to music. An hour later, I went downstairs to go to the restroom and it was at the same time that two girls were at the door telling us that dinner was ready.

"Hey! No girls allowed! This is the man-cave! Girls are gross!" One of the boys said and those nearest to him agreed to what he said.

"Gross I didn't want to go inside anyway. I bet it smells disgusting and messy in there." They exclaimed while laughing and walked away. Their voices were drown out by the complaints of the boys inside.

"Shut up! You just can't stand our manliness!" One said and they roared in approval. Not all of them were joining in on the bandwagon. A few watched the events unfold with a looks that said "These guys are idiots, but funny idiots." Hayama-san watched his friends do the stupid stunt with a troubled smile, no doubt he didn't want to join in since if he did, it would damage his reputation even though this was just for the laughs with no malicious intent.

To get everyone's attention, I clapped twice and they all turned to me. Since I was still at the stairs, they all had to look up to me.

"Ok everyone you heard her, let's go eat so we can sleep early." I say with a loud enough voice that reached the entire hall. They acknowledged me with drawn-out "Haaii~~…" and started moving immediately. Like a good sheperd, I herded my flock outside to where we ate on the foldable tables. I saw many familiar faces in the crowd, Hayama-san was there eating with his friends, wanting to eat but every time someone would strike a conversation with him, he had to put down his chopsticks and listen to what they had to say with a strained smile. Sucks to be popular riajuu huh. Miura-san was chatting a bit too loudly with her girlfriends, but quieted down when I caught their attention and put a finger to my lips to which she sent me an apologetic smile. Yuigahama-san from the other group was kind enough to drop by and give me a bowl of curry as thanks that they cooked with my advice which I shared with Shiromeguri-senpai and Hiratsuka-sensei. Ebina and Kawasaki were nowhere to be found, they must be in the other group with Yuigahama-san. As for Yukinoshita, she shared a table with some of the girls from our class, though I noticed that she was starting to get irritated at her companions since they spent too much time talking. During the few times that I ate with her, she's just like me. Someone who doesn't like talking while eating. I personally don't like it since it hurts my jaw.

I ate with Shiromeguri-senpai and the rest of the StuCo, unfortunately we were missing two members, namely our VP-Sports and Finance who were Third-Years since they were preparing for their exams. With Hiratsuka-sensei's support and Shirmomeguri-senpai's approval, I approached the Principal about a certain issue. I proposed a new seat in the StuCo. Now I am officially part of the Council, but aside from my disciplinary head duties, I am also the head of all committees during school events.

I informed the Principal of the lack of a central figure who sees the concerns of the committees, since Shiromeguri-senpai can only handle so much when wherever she looked, someone needed her consent and approval for something. If she knew how to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu, then I'm sure there would be no problems like the aftermentioned.

 ** _*Wow Hikigaya, you're really moving up the ladder huh?*_**

I was the one who made the proposal, but I didn't want to take up the position itself. Our Vice-President, Chisako Mai-senpai was a very capable 2nd year, and usually helped me out whenever Shiromeguri-senpai was absent. She was the one who would always buy snacks whenever we had some extra work to do. On our last meeting with the teachers, she sneaked me a can of Maxx coffee and I will forever be in her debt. Unfortunately, she plans to step down once the current school year ends since she wants to focus on her studies on her Third Year so she refused my proposal. Just like myself, she was appointed to that position by Shiromeguri-senpai. The only position in the StuCo that requires an election chosen by the student body is the President, the rest are by appointed by him or her and with the sponsorship and support of the previous StuCo. Instead, Chisako-senpai said that I should merge that new position and the one that I hold right now. It was a sound logic, and everyone else agreed to her.

Though I have a feeling that I got tricked…

Since the girls were the ones who cooked, prepared the food and set the plates and utensils, it was only natural the the boys would do the dishes, clean the tables, collect the trash and sweep the ground. Everyone in front of me was doing his part, and it was very satisfying watching them do so in an orderly and organized manner. The girls went on ahead to go freshen up in the female-only public bath after they excused themselves. As for me, they politely refused my help, saying that they can do it by themselves and that I should just "Sit back and give out orders."

What the heck, I'm the one giving order since THEY were the ones who voted for me to be the leader for the entire duration of the camping trip this morning! It's like they're making it sound like I'm oppressing them or something, good grief. I mean, I did say that Hayama-san should be the leader, arguing that he was better suited to it than he was. But a single smile from Prince Riajuu while saying _"I think Hikigaya would be the best option, don't you think?"_ was the last nail to be hammered on my coffin. Tch, damn riajuu, using these commoners to unite against me was a dirty move. Well, using the term "unite against me" is a bit paradoxical since terms like that are used against tyranny and unjust rule, but they're using that same logic against me on the basis that I should rule them, even though I don't want to. This should be a new thing in psychology…

I went on ahead back to the cabins to get my new clothes, eager to take a bath and tuck in for the night.

* * *

 ** _You were expecting a continuation after the line-break, but it was me, Ivanov117!_**

 ** _Jokes aside, here is the new chapter and I quite enjoyed making this. I hope everyone had a good laugh or two while reading, this story has the "comedy" tag after all. If you can name all the references I made wrote here, then kudos to you good Sir/Madame!_**

 ** _If you don't mind spending a minute or two, I'd like y'all to write on the review on who is your favourite girl so far in the story and why. I'm curious to see on who's taking the lead so far lol._**

 ** _To those saying that there's too much Yukino screentime(wordtime? idk), ofc she has a considerable place in the story since she's Hachi's classmate after all. And to the one who said that the Hachiman and Komachi scenes are a bit too incesty, yeah...I think you're right...I should lessen those scenes._**

 ** _So yeah, thats all for now. As always, thank you for reading and please wait for the next chapter!_**

 ** _*Deploys smoke bombs and disappears*_**


	23. The Space Between Them

Ah, that was a refreshing shower after such a tedious day of doing...

 _Absolutely nothing_

I walked out of the showers with water still dripping from the tips of my hair. I think I should get these trimmed, Mother said that it's getting a bit too messy to look at and I think she's right. I reveled at the cold air that met me outside, smiling to myself since I was the first one to shower, meaning I have more time to sleep tonight. It was quiet as I started walking back, I heard a few laughs here and there and the occasional loud music from the distance that echoed in the night. There were still some people talking on the vacant benches and chairs outside a round table, but there was no one at the fire. When I went inside, they were already preparing to go to the showers so the place was slowly but surely thinning out. I had a sudden urge to get myself a glass of milk, so I went to the fridge and poured myself one.

After putting my laundry and towel back in my bag, I walked outside with the glass and sat on the vacant chairs, I laid the glass on the table and checked my phone, where I saw two missed calls from my Mother a few minutes ago and a text from Komachi that said _"Big Bro! Mom said that she wanted to talk to you!"._

Shrugging at the text and dialing my Mother's number, she answered after several rings.

" _Hachi! How's everything going on on your end?" My Mother asked inquisitively, the background noise was odd, it was quiet, but I could occasionally hear the distinct sound of a piano and a violin playing._

"It's fine, I guess." I say in my usual neutral tone.

" _Hmm, well me and your Father are having dinner at this fancy restaurant in Chiba right now, he just went outside since he got a call."_

"Ah, is Komachi with you?"

" _She was too tired to come with us so she just cooked something up at home." She said._

"Let me guess, you're at the top of a tall hotel overlooking the city, right?" I said. I recalled the hotel that me and my Father stayed when we went to Tokyo last year, yeah the cafe there had some decent food.

" _Gotcha!"_ My Mother said in an amused manner, causing a small smile to form on my face.

" _Anyway, I just wanted to check on you, be sure to take your medicine alright? Be careful out there and remember what the Makatsu-sensei said about the things you're not allowed to do yet."_

"I can manage."

" _I believe you, dear. Oh, your Father is coming ba- wait, is that HARLOT making advances on him? You damned bi-Oh! You're still on the phone! Hehehe! Sorry that you had to hear that Hachi, I'll call you later, ok?"_ My Mother said and quickly ended the call.

I am once more reminded on which parent I got my tendency to talk to myself from. Even at home, Mother would seldom talk to herself whenever she is reading a particularly interesting book or just cooking for us.

Just like me.

On the other hand, I was quite shocked at her choice of words. I didn't know that she could be… _territorial_. Are all women like that? Women are definitely scary!

I heard footsteps approach my table, and I instinctively turned my head to the source. Clad in green jogging pants and a white sweater, Hayama Hayato walked with his hands in his pocket and head down with a melancholy look on his face. When he was near enough, he looked up and was surprised to see me.

"Oh, Hikigaya, its you." He stopped walking and his eye wandered to the vacant chair across the table that I occupied. "Do you mind if I sit there?" he asked.

"Hmm." I nodded to him in affirmation and he sat down in a way that told me that he had a lot on his mind to cause him to look visibly distressed.

I returned my attention to my phone and after replying to Komachi's text, started playing one of the popular gacha games that caught my interest last week.

"Do you have a minute, Hikigaya?" Hayato-san strained voice called out to me.

"Depends on how long you're gonna talk." I gave him a sideways glance and arched my brow at him.

He laughed to himself, but it was quick. "You sure do know how to pick your words."

"And I'm proud that I have a trait like that. So go on, I'm listening." I put down my phone and properly faced him, curious to hear what he has to say, though a bit annoyed that I have to be his personal psychiatrist.

After a moment, he started. "How do you turn down a girl without hurting her feelings?"

My initially curious expression turned into a deadpan one in an instant. Good grief, who does he think I am? A filthy stinking fuccboi Riajuu?

"I believe that person that you should be asking that is yourself. Do I look like a guy that gets confessions left and right? Not everyone is like you." I say in an annoyed tone.

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted your advice."

I started thinking on his question, but a conversation that I heard earlier this evening brought me to a discovery, and I immediately had an idea.

"Reina." When I said that name, he had a shocked expression and then immediately started looking around us. When he confirmed that there was no one nearby that can eavesdrop on our conversation, he whispered "How did you know?"

I shrugged at him, "Well it's hard not to miss a conversation about a certain girl confessing tonight to a certain guy. And given that you're undoubtedly the most popular guy in our Year…" I say while looking at him from the corner of my eye.

"Oi, you're popular too, maybe even more than me." He had an amused grin on his pretty face.

"From your point of view, perhaps. But I think being the apple of every girl's eyes and friends with everyone sounds better than the being the Head of the Disciplinary Committee of the Student Council, male Class Rep of the highest class in our year and being the 2nd person in the history of our school to pass the entrance exams with perfect results." I say as if what I am right now isn't such a bug deal.

His grin grew wider, "You don't yourself enough credit. Not anyone can be like you."

I gave him a small amused smirk of my own. "So, here we are, two of the most well-known guys in our Year, casually talking about our popularity in this table. You finally managing to escape from your usual companions to find some alone time, while accidentally stumbling upon lonely old me."

"Ok back to the topic, are you friends with her?" I waved the air in front of me, as if dismissing everything that we have talked a moment ago.

He had a troubled look and scratched his cheek. "Uhh, that's a bit hard to expla-"

"Acquaintances?" After thinking a bit, he nodded and I continued.

"Let me guess, did her friends introduce her to you?" He nodded again.

"Now, are you interested in being in a relationship right now?" I asked him. He started contemplating my words, putting his hands together in-front with his faced strained in thought.

"No." He said after a while, he showed determination on his face which told me that he wasn't lying.

I shrugged and leaned back on my chair, "Well there you go. Tell her _"I'm happy that you feel that way but I'm not interested in being in a relationship right now."_ and if she asks if she has a chance in the future, I'm afraid you're on your own on that." I say.

"Good grief, these infatuated girls confessing their love and seeking a boyfriend at our age. They should focus on their studies instead of looking at boys all the time. What they have right now are just crushes and admiration, nothing to confess and fret about. What are they, single lonely 35-year old women preying at younger men to have a one night stand with?" I started ranting before I knew it, and Hayato-san winced at my words.

"Yes, but how do I say it without hurting her feelings?" He pushed the question again and I had to roll my eyes at his question.

"You are _TURNING_ her down, so of course you're hurting her feelings. There is no other way around that. You can not reply her her right now, but what you're doing is delaying the inevitable. " I say in a matter-of-fact. "You can choose to be friendly to her, but she might think that she has a chance, which then causes her to dig her grave deeper into the abyss that I would like to call, _"The Turned-Down Void". "_ I added.

"So what do I do? After rejecting her, I mean."

"Ugh, I don't know, just treat her like an acquaintance. Though if you treat her too warmly out of pity, it might look like you're leading her on _again_ , which might cause her to think that she still has a chance _again_ , leading her to call you out and confess to you, _again._ " I shrugged, at this point, it feels like I'm spouting nonsense and I honestly don't know what I'm talking about.

He looked down, the gears inside his head turning as he thought about my answer. "You know, you're really good at this." He said and laughed more at himself in a mocking tone. A laugh that came from someone who has no other options left, and it sounded sad. But I did not pity him, not in the slightest. I stayed quiet and observed him. For someone like him asking this question to someone like me…I have no idea what drove him to do such.

"Well, my extensive time spent on romance manga and novels have finally become useful, I guess." I say in a lame attempt to lighten the mood.

"You confirmed that you're not interested in having a relationship right now, yes. But do you like anyone in particular?" He was caught off guard by my question, and I can see the visible signs of hesitation given from his body language that he unconsciously did.

"Well…yes…" He said quietly.

"I see, is she the reason why you're not interested in anyone else?" He nodded wordlessly at my question. Hoh, someone that he likes huh, it must be a fellow Riajuu I bet. Birds of the same feather flock together after all. Or maybe he's a Stand User and he's subconsciously drawn to her.

Ah, I see his situation now. So basically, he only has one girl in mind and isn't interested in the ones that have confessed to him. How admirable, to say the least.

"If…you were in my shoes…what would you do?" He finally spoke after a moment.

"Is that a joke?" I say to him.

"Come on just answer the question."

"This planet will have achieved world peace, cured every single disease, prolonged the average lifespan of Man to 200 years, terraformed and colonized Mars and invented a faster-than-light ship engine before that will happen. _But,_ on the minuscule chance that that happens, I would do exactly what I just told you." I say in a deadpan expression. Good grief, this conversation is going in circles.

"Even though you'd hurt her?"

I scoffed "I would rather turn her down _HARD_ once, than to make her fall numerous times, each fall more painful than the last. Plus, I have a feeling that she already knows that she's gonna get turned down. No doubt there's a few rumours about you turning down girls that have confessed to you. Her courage is admirable at least. Doing this for her is a mercy, I say." He frowned at my words and was deep in thought. I can understand how hard he's trying to not hurt anyone, and I can respect that, but in this particular scenario, it is impossible. Leaders that have a personality like that always lead people to ruin.

You can't save everyone. Necessary sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

"In the end, its all up to you, Hayato-san." I say and returned my attention to my phone.

"Yeah, thanks for the talk." He gave me a smile as bright as the Sun and I put on my imaginary sunglasses on. After thanking me, he attempted to stand up, but there was still one more question that he had on his mind, it seems.

"Do you think I should be blunt?" The look that he had in his eye told me that whatever he was going to do entirely depended on my answer.

"Knowing myself, I would definitely say something harsh before I think. But for someone like you to say that…" My voice trailed away and he visibly flinched when I turned to him.

"Unless you want to destroy your carefully made image, have bad rumours circulating against you, receive glares from every single female in school, then I _highly_ advice against it, _Mr. Popular._ " I gave him a smirk as he visibly shuddered at my words.

"Thanks, well, I gotta go I guess…" He pointed to the building that received the guests, the one that we went through this morning. I arched my eyebrow at him at his silent message.

"Really? Let me guess, behind the building? Good grief, how tasteless." I say in disbelief. That girl has terrible taste in choosing a place to confess.

He chuckled at my answer, "Really Hikigaya, sometimes you're just too smart for your own good." After giving me a wave, he started walking, though after several paces, his head drooped low and his walking posture slightly became slouched.

"Huh, never thought I'd give love advice to a Riajuu…" I mutter to myself as the intro song from the game in my phone started playing.

Damnit, my jaw hurts from too much talking...

* * *

Our supposed schedule for this morning was a wake-up exercise that lasted for 30-minutes and then breakfast immediately after it. But, since yours truly was forbidden from doing the former, I had the option of sleeping and staying in bed until breakfast was ready. Of course, I was not trashy enough to do the aftermentioned, so I opted to help cook the food with the rest of the volunteers. But before I did that, I decided to go to the cabin where the teachers that were with us were staying so I can borrow a list of our activities today and for tomorrow.

As I got nearer, I saw a tall lady standing in the sunlight, she wore jogging pants and a pink long-sleeved t-shirt, in her arms, wrapped in a blue blanket, was a baby. I didn't see Ino-sensei yesterday, so I thought she wasn't with us. Ino Hanami-sensei was one of the more popular teachers in our year level, and she taught us world history and culture. She was popular because she treated us like a little sibling, and also because she was tall and pretty, like her husband and co-teacher, Hiro Hanami-sensei. Hiro-sensei on the other hand, taught English, and was quite popular among the female students.

"Good Morning Sensei." I greeted her when I got near enough. "Oh! A good morning to you too, Hikigaya-kun!" She smiled warmly at me and beckoned me to come closer.

"Tania-chan! Look! It's Hikigaya-kun!" When the baby heard her name being called, she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up to her mother and then to me, when she saw me and I saw a momentary glint of recognition in here eye, she began reaching out to me with her hands outstretched.

"Baabuubuhh aaaaiiii!" She started making those cute baby noises which caused a smile to form on my face.

Ino-sensei gave me her daughter, and I adjusted her so that I held her back with my right hand while I supported her bottom with my left one. Though this position has it's downsides, since her head was resting on my shoulder, I felt her drool damped my shirt. But I didn't mind, though its a different story if she puked on me.

Hiro and Ino-sensei were one of the teachers that I was in friendly terms with. I always felt that they favoured me in class, since they both would always pick me first to present our homework and essays. It also helped that after classes ended, I would always approach Hiro-sensei in the faculty room seeking his assistance on a question or two, which he would then happily entertain me and answer all of my questions until I was satisfied. It was also at that time that Ino-sensei would drop in during our private discussions holding her daughter which she picked up from the day care.

It came to no surprise that their baby also developed a liking to me as well, and Ino-sensei would happily push her into my arms every time.

Of course not just to me. Tania-chan was the loved and adored by all the teachers in the faculty, even Hiratsuka-sensei, who said that she dislikes children, hold her from time to time.

"I'm surprised to see you here Sensei, especially this bundle of joy right here." As if on cue, Tania-chan gave out a high-pitched noise and started laughing to herself.

"Ah, yes. We were supposed to drop Tania-chan at my brother's house, but he was away on a two-day trip outside Chiba…" She said.

"Oh, what about Hiro-sensei?" I asked and Ino-sensei pointed to a group of male faculty members jogging in the distance and I saw his unmistakable figure wave in our direction. Just like his wife, Hiro-sensei was also quite young and good-looking, he even secretly told me that he received several anonymous letters from his female students last valentines day, much to his wife's amusement. If Ino-sensei was a yandere, I shudder to think what she would have done to the girls that sent her husband those letters.

Ino-sensei gave me a copy of the list and insisted that I carry Tania-chan this morning and show her around.

"B-But Sensei-" I started but she shook her head and said, "You'll do fine, Hikigaya-kun, and Hiro trusts you. You are his favourite student after all~." She winked at me with a mischievous glint in her eye, and I could not help but sigh in defeat.

"Tania-chan, Mommy will go with have a quick exercise this morning, ok? Don't cause too much trouble to Hikigaya-kun." After kissing her daughter's cheek which caused her to squeak in delight, Ino-sensei jogged to where the other teachers where.

I moved Tania-chan a bit so she can see my face.

"Well Tania-chan, looks like its just me and yo-" The baby sneezed at my face and laughed as she repeatedly hit my cheek to her amusement. I just pinched her cheek and positioned her in a way that she was also facing the same direction as I am. Now that I think about it, what should I show Tania-chan first? Wait, she's a baby! She won't understand what I'm saying anyway!

I noticed a group of boys jogging around the area, nothing unusual, except that their backs were leaned low while their arms were straight behind them. In other words, the group large of young males in the distance were Naruto-running. The one that was at the forefront of their pack was screaming at the top of his lungs.

 _"NARUTOOOOO!"_

 _"SASUKEEEEE!_ "

Their high-pitched voices reached my ears, and I just stared at the in the distance with a deadpan expression. "Ah, youth..."

"Tania-chan look," I held her in place with my left hand and I pointed to the males in the distance. "you see those guys? Those are degenerate weaboo weirdos doing weeb stuff. Avoid them when you grow up, ok?" Tania-chan looked to where I was pointing, looked up at me and then attempted to bite her tiny feet. I have no idea what that means in baby language.

I made my way to where the other class was that was only composed of girls were exercising and sat on the vacant benches a small distance away from them. Huh, the boys I saw earlier must have been in this class as well. Of course, me holding a baby that they had never seen before was quite the sight, and I easily garnered the attention from many of the girls. I put Tania-chan on the table where she sat, unfortunately since she was too young to learn how to properly balance herself, I still had to hold her back to prevent her from falling on her back.

I forced myself to just keep my attention on the baby in front of me and not on the group of students that were still in my field of vision. Girls exercising in public are dangerous, their chests go up and down in rhythm to their body movements. And of course, your eyes are naturally drawn to them like moths to a flame. Well, that only goes for those well-endowed female students.

After they were done, a lone Lioness separated from the pride and sprinted towards me, smoke rising from her nostrils and leaving a large dust cloud behind her. I say Lioness because of the colour of her hair and also because of her strong personality that I learned from observing her at a distance.

 **"KYAAAAAHH WHAT A CUTE BABY!"** Miura-san squealed in a high-pitched voice as she got closer and I had to cringe at her. Oh no, why did I come here? How could I forget that all young girls love babies since it stimulates their maternal instincts? I could already see several, no, A LOT of girls walking to my direction.

S-H-I-T! I had unknowingly stumbled into a horde of females hell bent on carrying my baby!

"Auuuueee ueee~?" Tania-chan turned to me, as if puzzled as to why I had such a horrified expression on my face.

Miura-san jumped beside me and focused all her attention on the baby, pinching her cheeks and poking her belly. Tania-chan looked at the stranger beside me, and instinctively reached to me. Miura-san on the other hand, had a downcast expression on her face when she was being ignored by the baby.

"Heh, that's what you get for not greeting us first." I smirked at her from the corner of my eye. I suddenly felt my ear get twisted and yanked, and I had to call out to my attacker.

"Hey! Quit it! That hurts!" The female refused to heed my words filled with pain and anguish and had a sadistic smile on her face.

"Getting a bit cocky, are we? H-i-k-i-o?" She cackled menacingly as her smile further widened as I squirmed in pain.

"My dear _Muira-san_ , I have no idea who this _Hikio_ person is. Perhaps you have mistaken that gentleman for me? Now, cease what you are doing, since it is very unladylike." I managed a retort, but she increased the pressure and I had to back down from the pain.

"Fffueeee ahahahaaa!" Came the delighted sound that came from Tania-chan as she just watched what was happening in front of her with joy. She started clapping her hands and slapping my arm that held her in place. Oi little brat! You're joining too?!

" _Awwww what a cutie!"_

" _She's so chubby I want to pinch those cheeks!"_

" _Oh my gosh her smile is so cute!"_

" _That pajama is sooo cuuuuuuteeee~~~!"_

Oh no, I'm surrounded by the horde. How could I let them close? I completely forgot about the other girls that had already blocked all escape routes.

Miura-san let go of my ear and returned her attention to the baby, this time she was doing this more slowly.

"Look at you, you're so cute~~~~!" She said as she held her tiny hand. Tania-chan looked at the stranger once more with an inquisitive look, and then she gave out a squeal and a toothless smile.

"Awwwwwwww~~~~~~~!" Every female around me said in unison, and I could already imagine the hearts that would float around.

"What's her name, Hikio?" Miura-san asked as she continued to play with the baby.

"Tania-chan."

"What a pretty name…" She said and the other girls agreed to what she said. Of course, as she led her own pack of females, those nameless characters had no choice but to agree to whatever their leader said. Miura-san was now supporting Tania-chan's back and the latter looked around the faces of the strangers that surrounded her.

"Is she you little sister?" She asked, and I was about to answer her, but then an idea sprang from my head.

"Nah, she's my **_daughter_**." I say in a matter-of-fact tone and in my most casual voice. By pure coincidence, Tania-chan bobbed her head up and down after I finished.

The reaction to my statement was instantaneous.

 ** _"EEEEEEEEHHHHHHH?!"_** Came the sound of the surprise around me, and I had to wince in pain. Tania-chan apparently lost interest in Miura-san and she reached out her arms to me, which I accepted. The girl beside me whoever, had a dumbfounded look on her face, her arms were limp as I returned the baby to my arms.

"But you're so young!" A voice from the crowd said.

"So? Is there a _problem?_ " I say in a serious deadpan voice that had a hint of challenge in it. If Yukinoshita heard me right now, no doubt she would accuse me of imitating her ice cold voice. They immediately backed down, their eyes darting to me and the baby in front of me. I can already see that they're comparing my physical features to the baby that I held. Although it's still impossible for anyone to accurately predict as to who she got her looks from since she is still a baby and all, I have a feeling that Tania-chan would grow up having the more noticeable physical features from her Father, Hiro-sensei.

…

...

…

"That was a joke."

" **YOU CALL THAT A _JOKE_?!**" Their voices filled with a mixture of anger, frustration and relief. I received several slaps on my back, and I felt someone pinch my side. How petty, these physical attacks have no effect one me. Ah, it seems I have agitated the females. Well, now that I think about it, from another person's view, it would be quite hard to tell if I was joking. Seeing that I rarely joke about things at all.

When I looked to my side, Miura-san was already preparing to strangle me for my antic. Hey now, if you actually try that, then I have no choice but to do the secret Joestar technique…

Forgive me Master, I have to go all out just this once… *** _cringe*_**

"She is Hanami-sensei's daughter, she left her in my care while they're doing the morning exercises." I say and everyone nodded had looks of understanding. Tania-chan was getting restless, it looks like she's getting tired from sitting down. She looked at me, her big eyes telling me what she wanted me to do.

"Ok, here we go." I say as I stood up and carried her once more. Miura-san looked sad and I had a feeling on what the specific reason was. Ah, she must want to do _that_ , right?

"Do you want to hold her?" I say as I moved closer to her.

"E-Eh?! Are you sure?" She said in surprise as I closed the distance between us. Miura-san reluctantly readied her arms, and a small circle formed around us as the other girls watched with eager curiosity. Tania-chan looked at Miura-san with a curious look, then looked up to me. "Go on." I say with a small smile and she went into Miura-san's arms.

Because she was not used to carrying babies, Miura-san had some difficulty in deciding where to put her arms. So I still had to stay close to her to teach her.

"Ok, so use the entirety of your left arm for her to lie on, position her head in a way that makes her comfortable, now your right hand should be below your left to support her weight. If she starts squirming, it means that she isn't comfortable." We were in such close proximity to each other that if one of us tripped over the other, we would both be in an awkward position. Like the ones you see in those harem, ecchi anime.

"Ahhhhh what if I drop her?!" Miura-san said in a stressed tone when I stepped away from her, her eyes widening as I left her on her own devices. "Hey! Oi Hikio come back here! Help me out!" She started pleading me, but I ignored her.

"Relax, you're doing fine." I say as I sat down. The girls around us started flocking to Miura-san and the baby she had on her arms. I watched the events unfold in front of me with amusement. After a while, Miura-san relaxed and started cooing Tania-chan and slowly rocking her gently. Some girls were bringing out their phones to take pictures. Tania-chan laughed and giggled from the numerous tickles that she received from the girls. I thought it was just something in my eye, but then I realized that I was wrong and went to Miura-san. She was tearing up, and tears were already flowing from the corner of her eyes and she was biting her trembling lower lip.

"Hey, M-Miura-san, is something wrong?" I cautiously say to her, since I don't have the slightest idea on what was happening. She looked up to me with a stupid smile, her eyes red and puffy from the tears.

"N-Nothings wrong Hikio, it's just that…" She said between hiccups, and I unconsciously gulped.

"She's so _cuuuuuteee~~~~!_ " She exclaimed before rubbing her face on the baby that she held. Tania-chan was confused, and grabbed some of Miura-san's hair, causing her to have a messy look when she finished nuzzling the baby.

"Good grief why would you cry over something so trivial…?" I mutter to myself, and Miura-san giggled with teary eyes when she heard me.

"You won't understand Hikio, you're not a girl."

" _Yeah! It's a girl thing!"_ A voice from somewhere exclaimed.

" _Cute stuff make girls cry ok?"_ This time it came from behind me, and the girls nearby nodded in agreement.

Tania-chan was clearly getting bothered by the crowd and sounds around her, and I could already sense that she was a few moments away from crying. I took her back into my arms from a surprised Miura-san, and she looked sad while letting her go. She squealed in delight when she recognized who was carrying her.

"Aww, I want to hold her too…" One said and the others agreed in unison.

"Sorry, but Tania-chan is getting stressed from all of this." I say. They pouted at my reply, but they knew that I was right.

"So...I must get going, if you don't mind." The crowd slowly dispersed, but not before Tania-chan got a number of innumerable goodbye kisses and tickles which made her laugh squeal. Hey, where's my goodbye kiss…? Oh yeah, I'm not a trashy harem protagonist after all.

Miura-san was the last one to approached me.

After kissing Tania-chan on the cheek, she turned her attention to me, and what I saw startled me.

The sweet smile that she gave to Tania-chan in my arms was gone. Now she had she frowned at me with her brows furrowed, her aura of friendliness gone in an instant, and I gulped at how fast she changed. Instead of the temperature dropping, it increased as I saw a fiery look in her green eyes. I was about to open my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it first.

And all she said was a single word.

 _"Idiot."_ Her voice dropped with venom and hostility that made the hairs on my arm stand. I think that if I wasn't carrying a baby right now, she would have slapped me on the spot for the whole world to see. And I would have been to shocked making me rooted to the spot and unable to dodge her slap.

Then she turned her back on me and stomped her way back to their cabin, leaving me completely baffled on what just transpired. To say that _"I have no idea what the f* just happened"_ is an understatement. Did I do or say something which caused her to act in that manner? I honestly have no idea.

Was everything that happened earlier just an act? Or did I do something that offended her _after_ our little commotion? I can only speculate, since I'm still at a loss.

Miura-san's form she disappeared inside the small building, the girls that followed at her heels had troubled looks on their faces.

I looked down to Tania-chan, completely oblivious to what just happened.

"Hey, Tania-chan, did your Hachi-nii do something wrong?" I asked her.

She began to stifle a cry, and not long after that, began sobbing. I had to softly coo her by slowly rocking her back and forth until she calmed down and I wiped her tears away, all the while deeply pondering if I had hurt Miura-san in some way.

* * *

 ** _Hello comrades, Ivanov117 here!_**

 ** _This has to be the most enjoyable chapter I've ever written so far to be honest. I always love writing cute scenes that make your heart flutter and feel warm on the inside. Goodness, why was Miura so upset, I wonder...? Was it indeed something 8man had said? Was he aware of what he was doing? Get ready for some Saki action next chapter bois and grils!_**

 ** _I have received death threats(jk lol) in Spanish, English, French, Indonesian, German, Polish and Vietnamese from the hardcore incest fags. Fine I won't completely remove the HachixKomachi scenes damn stop sending me those fanart in my mail like bruh fkn hell._**

 ** _Yeah, that's it for this chapter._**

 ** _Oh yeah, I'll be going to the US to visit my relatives, and I won't be able to update in the following weeks. Though idk, I might have a sudden burst of inspiration and start writing there, you never know I guess._** ** _¯\\_(ツ)_/¯_**

 ** _You can review if you want tho._**

 ** _As always, thanks for reading and please look forward to the next chapter!_**


	24. Trust and Companionship

I watched a group of teachers jog by, their foreheads slick with sweat as the early morning Sun kissed their faces. There was still some chill left in the air, but not enough for me to shiver. I sat a distance a way where my class was preparing breakfast. I did not quite get enough sleep last night, so I opted not to assist in the cooking of this morning's food. Together with the fact that I did not jog, as what the majority of my class is doing right now, I find myself just staring off into space. I am paradoxically not the most athletic person, but I am above average in the sports that I played during middle-school. Though my stamina is not something worth boasting about, to my disappointment…

Today, the academic events and contests would take place, namely quiz bees, spelling bees etc. We were missing a contestant for the former, so I went to find Hikigaya-kun last night to discuss on what action we should take. He made it clear from the beginning that I have his consent and support in any decision I should take, but I still wanted his opinion. After all, I was the one who managed everything yesterday. Of course, he offered his assistance, but I declined.

All I saw him do the day before with the games and events going on was sitting under the shade of a tree and peacefully read a book and play on that phone of his. The image was very painting-worthy, to say the least. While I was going from place to place making sure that everything was going smoothly, he was just doing that.

I was exhausted, and I was very close to asking him for help.

But I refuse to do it.

 _"Don't come running to me when things start to get rough. Good luck."_ He said in his usual poker-face expression. Though I felt a strangeness in his tone, as if he was testing me.

Doing so would make him right on what he said, and I absolutely refuse to give him that pleasure.

I went from our sleeping quarters last night and walked to where I saw him last, eating outside his assigned cabin. He ate with the rest of the Student Council and Hiratsuka-sensei, as I recall. An unfamiliar-looking girl with peach colored hair came to his table and gave him something, and soon left our group. She must be an acquaintance of his from the other class. As I drew closer, I spotted two figures that were engrossed in conversation. From his hair and the shirt that he wore, I confirmed the one of the figures was the one that I'm looking for. I saw that he was engaged in a conversation with another boy with blonde hair.

Seeing that scum makes my blood boil.

As I observed them from a distance in the shadow behind their cabin, and I concurred that their topic was something Hikigaya-kun did not enjoy to talk about, from the way his eyes frowned during several times in their talk. From the many times that I have been with him, he would always have an unchanging expression on his face; half-lidded eyes, a tired sounding-voice, his lips formed into a permanent neutral line and his rude habit of sometimes not turning to the people that were conversing with him, only preferring to look at them from the corner if his eyes.

I had told him that the last one was very offensive, and he had an air of arrogance when he did it. He apologised for it and never did it again.

Although he would snicker, and I would give out a small laugh during our occasional banters, we know there was no malice in whatever words came out of our mouths.

Last Valentine's Day, the Class Reps received chocolate from the Student Council after classes ended as a small token of thanks. Being a Class Rep and Student Council member at the same time, he received two boxes of chocolates.

 _ ***Flashback***_

 _"Yosh yosh Hikigaya-kun, Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for your hard work..." Seeing Shiromeguri Meguri-senpai lightly pat Hikigaya-kun's head was very unexpected. The latter having a satisfied look on his face as he received headpats from the former. I have never seen him make such a face, nor did I think it possible for him to make one. It was so out place for someone as serious and stoic as him_ _,_ _s_ _eeing how he looks so used to this, I didn't know that they were, umm...close._

 _"Uwaahh, Hikigaya-kun is so clingy to Shiromeguri..." Another voice came and an unfamiliar black-haired girl with short hair skipped over to us. Like Shiromeguri-senpai, she started rubbing her hand on his head, but in a shocking display, she clung to him from behind and wrapped her arms around her waist. Seeing him being smothered by the two older girls was distressing coming from someone such as myself uncomfortable with close physical contact. The newcomer was also very comely, her height, beautiful dark brown eyes and her feminine figure were the first things that I came to notice. Her legs were also toned and I have reason to believe that she is quite athletic. She was several centimetres taller than Hikigaya-kun, easily towering over him and the Student Council President. Because of the height difference, she had to lean down on him from behind. Her bust was...impressive for someone of her age to possess._

 _S-Seeing her rub those blobs of sinful flesh on Hikigaya-kun's back..._

 _G-Goodness! How i-indecent...!_

 _Hikigaya-kun, seemed outright unbothered by the two females that had_ _sandwiched_ _him. It is almost as if he is accustomed to this. Perhaps he has an older sister and an endearing Mother, which might explain how he i_ _s_ _utterly unfazed by what was happening._

 _"Thanks for the chocolates earlier Hikigaya-kun. Here you go, your reward and also my Valentine's Day gift...~" The newcomer presented a canned coffee that I'm not quite familiar with. When he saw it, the expression he had on his face was that of a treasure hunter finally stumbling upon the Holy Grail itself._

 _"Thank you, Chisako-senpai. If you keep this up, I'll definitely marry you..." His words were something that was supposed to be said with passion and love. But instead, he said it in a monotone manner with a dead-eyed look in his…well, eyes._ _T_ _he new girl behind him to laughed and let go of him. She finally noticed me, since I wa_ _s_ _silent the entire time and watched things unfold in-front of me with a mixture of amusement, horror and curiosity._

 _"Oh! You must be Yukinoshita, right? I'm Chisako Mai, 2nd year and Vice President." She greeted me with a formal smile._

 _"It's good to meet you, Chisako-senpai. I am the class representative of 1-A." I returned her greeting with an equal amount of courtesy. I was a familiar glint on her eye that made me sweat nervously, I always see that on Nee-san when she's about to tease me._

 _"Ohhh, has my kouhai here given you complementary chocolates yet?" She said. Before I knew what was happening, her arm was already around Hikigaya-kun's neck when he gracefully avoided it with astonishing speed. It was so fast all I saw was a blur, and he had already took a step back from Chisako-senpai, eyeing her carefully._

 _"You'll have to be faster than that if you want to put me on a_ _choke-hold_ _, Senpai. I won't fall for it like last time." He said as Shiromeguri-senpai lightly clapped her hands_ _from behind them_ _._

 _"Tch." The tall girl clicked her tongue in annoyance._

 _"And to answer the question," he fixed his black blazer that had become slightly undone, "no, I didn't give her anything of sort."_

 _"Aww that's a shame then..." Shiromeguri-senpai said from behind, and held in her hand was a box of chocolates Hikigaya-kun had given her earlier. "Thanks for the chocolates_ _again_ _Hikigaya-kun!" From the corner of his eye, he looked at me with an expression that said "Well, do you want one?"_

 _I discreetly shook my head, earning a shrug of response from him._

 _After that, we excused ourselves and went together to change our shoes, since his Mother will pick him up and me by my driver, I had no excuse to turn down his offer in waiting together outside. I had unfortunately received a number of cards from secret admirers when I opened my shoe locker this morning. And I'm sure I have several more when I open it righ_ _t_ _now. I have no time to_ _indulge_ _myself in such nonsense._

 _I patiently waited beside him as he changed his shoes, and eyed his empty locker curiously. I expected him to receive a letter from some girl, but it seems I was wrong, as I am sure no girl out there is brave enough to give him one. I also ignored the stares that I were sent our way, and the ones I'm feeling coming from behind me right now. Seeing two of the most recognizable First Year students together during Valentine's Day is sure to create a rumour or two. I care not for petty gossip, and the companionship between us has never changed even though we both knew of them hanging in the air. No trace of awkwardness was present. We have more important matters to attend to than to focus our attention on this insignificant matter._

 _He is unlike any person I have met in my life, perhaps with the exemption of Nee-san. Thankfully, we both think alike. Great minds think alike after all._

 _I admit that he has bested me in academics, but I refuse to concede defeat._

 _He is a worthy rival._

 _"It seems that you didn't receive a letter this year." I commented as he gave me an annoyed look._

 _"Like I care for crap like that. Leave me alone, my little sister gives me all the love I need in Valentine's Day. Also, Valentine's Day is just a marketing tactic employed by Japanese companies imitating western countries, it has no place in our culture. When I become Prime Minister, I will eradicate every trace of it in our country." He said as he puffed out his chest. I can unironically imagine him putting that in his political campaign..._

 _"Alright then, Prime Minister Siscon Hikigaya-kun. A_ _s a_ _piece of advice, don't openly voice out your affections to your little sister."_ _I say while giving him a sarcastic clap._

 _"Shut up."_

 _I wordlessly walked past him and went to my own locker and heard his footsteps close behind me. When I opened mine, around five pink-coloured letters fell and rested on my feet. The male beside me let out a low whistle and leaned down and casually picked them up._

 _"As expected of the Ice Queen. I see two letters that wrote your name with the wrong character. Ugh this one is in_ _E_ _nglish writing; the penmanship is horrible and the grammar is nauseous." He said and handed me the letters without a word._

 _And I crumpled them and threw it in the trash a small distance away from me._

 _He winced at my actions._

 _"I should feel sorry for the poor sods that wrote those, but it's impossible for me to do so." He sighed, gave the garbage bin a lingering look and resumed walking. I followed him not a moment too soon._

 _"That is very much like you."_

 _As we started walking out an unfamiliar average-looking fellow approached us from our right, carrying what seemed to be a letter of sorts, but backpedalled when he saw the person that was accompanying me. A look of surprise and slight fear in his face. Hikigaya-kun was quick to call out to the stranger, but before he can, the newcomer stuttered a quick apology and bolted inside the building._

" _What a cowardly fellow…" I heard him mutter and continued._ _"I have a vague idea on what his business was. No doubt he thought of the wrong assumption when he saw me with you." He said as we both watched the retreating back of the newcomer with disinterested expressions._

 _"I'm sure we both know what his intention was, Hikigaya-kun. No need to feign ignorance. And about the last part, I don't care what other people think, and I'm sure you don't as well." I said as we finally exited the building. The weather outside was still cold, so I pulled my jacket closer to my body. Hikigaya-kun on the other hand, was unfazed by the sudden drop in temp_ _e_ _rature and did not bother to adjust his jacket._

 _"Hmm, well you're right...but still..." his voice trailed off as he discontinued what he was about to say._

 _I was supposed to quickly go home to avoid situations such as these, but that changed when he offered me his company, which I accepted. I had no reason to deny him, and his company was not unwelcome._

 _Fascinating..._

 _I should have him by my side at times, to avoid being confessed to in school. Well, only Valentine's Day perhaps, but still...I must discover what other things he can be useful to me...perhaps as a bodyguard or my assistant in the future..._

 _Despite openly voicing his complaints on literally anything pertaining to work, he is quite an efficient at doing tasks._

 _Now, the only problem would be how to go about it..._

 _Hehehehehe..._

 _"O-Oi, why are you smiling and giggling creepily at me like that...?" The discomfort was clear from his voice as he inched away from me. He gave me a wary look, his reaction amused me._

 _"Oh nothing, it's just that your presence is very useful after all." I leered and gave him a small_ _mischievous_ _smile, all the while thinking on how to use him in other means._

 _"You talk as if saying that I'm a tool to be used as you see fit." A cold shiver went up his spine and I am quite sure it was not from the cold weather._

 _ ***Flashback End***_

I walked to where his cabin was located, and outside was ready bustling with activity. The tables and chairs where already out in place while those doing the cooking were working in the cooking station nearby. Some boys were exercising and I saw Hayama-kun with them. From the corner of my eye, I clearly saw him look in my direction, but upon registering me, he quickly looked away.

Coward.

I looked around, but I did not see him and decided to take a look inside their cabin. I finally saw the person that I was looking for inside the cabin sitting on the benches while reading a small pocket book with one hand.

But what surprised me was the baby that he was holding with one arm that sat on his lap. The baby seemed to be sleeping peacefully and rested on Hikigaya-kun's chest.

Oh my, what a precious thing.

"Good Morning." He said, not even looking away from his book.

"Good Morning." I sat down across him eager to discuss and finish what I came here to do, since I have other tasks to attend to, but the baby that he held was very distracting. Its chest going up and down as it breathed and it's tiny hand held Hikigaya-kun's pinky finger. The baby had dark shoulder length hair, so I was not quite sure what its gender was.

"Is that baby a boy?" I asked.

"Tania-chan is a girl." He replied.

"Tania...that's a pretty name." I say fighting the urge to reach out and poke the baby's chubby cheeks.

The baby yawned and started stretching her limbs, craning her neck here and there and opened her eyes. She rubbed them with her hand and Hikigaya-kun stopped her.

"Tania-chan, don't rub your eyes too much." He gently said as she looked up and gave him a big toothless smile, her baby saliva dripping from the corners of her mouth. He then used the cloth of her shirt to wipe it off. After adjusting her on his lap and fixing her messy hair, to which she tried to reach out with her hand to bite him, he produced a pacifier from his pocket and put it on her.

"You can't bite me silly, you still don't have any teeth." He said and pinched her cheeks.

The baby turned her attention to me and just stared at me with wide eyes.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"O-Oh yes," I couldn't take my eyes off the baby that he held. "we are still lacking a participant for the Quiz Bee, I still haven't found a suitable candidate. If we don't get one soon, I fear we will be disqualified." I say.

He put a hand under his chin in deep thought. His brows knitted together and eyes deeply focused in concentration. He does this quite frequently when asked to solve a problem in front of the class or when he is requested to give his opinion on a certain topic for our essay. The baby looked up at him and after seeing what he was doing, imitated him.

"Pfff..." I restrained a giggle with all of my might, but the baby that was staring intently at me while imitating the one that held her in place was making it very difficult. It did not help that she was also chewing on her own pacifier.

"Ah." His right hand formed into a fist and lightly hit the palm of his left hand.

"Have you thought of someone?" I asked.

"Why don't you join?" He said as he started playing with the baby on his lap, which earned a squeal from her.

I blinked twice before his suggestion registered. That certainly was not a bad idea, and I'm sure either of us can win and earn a score for our class. Had this been a two-person team, we would completely dominate this competition and emerge victorious.

"Hmm, well, if the situation permits...then I believe I can join. But who will manage our team while I'm gone?" My question was left hanging in the air, and I was beginning to think that he might volunteer himself for the task at hand. But I know he won't since I told him that I will not ask for his help.

"I know someone." He said flatly.

"And who would that someone be?" I replied with an equally flat tone.

"Someone who can get the job done." His stubbornness was clear, and it would be difficult for me to force him to yield to me. I know because I have only succeeded a few times.

I sighed in exasperation and glanced at the baby that has not broken eye contact with me. "Can you give me a name, at least...?"

He simply shook his head. "He can do it. He owes me a favour or two."

"Oh, and if you win, I'll give you this." He showed me a sealed letter and waved it in front of him. It looked nothing special.

"What is that?"

"You'll find out when you win. Isn't that right, Tania-chan~~..." He smothered the baby and laughed, causing her to accidentally dropped her pacifier. Her tiny mouth forming into an "O" as she followed the pacifier that fell with her eyes. With his one hand, he carried her and leaned down to pick it up.

"Can you hold her while I wash her pacifier?" He said and I stood up and readied my arms to receive the baby. It's my first time holding one, but I am sure I can handle it.

"Eeeeaaahhhh!" The baby cringed away from me and buried her face in the fabric of his shirt, her tiny hands clasped tightly on it. Hikigaya-kun laughed at the baby's reaction and his cheeky grin became wider.

"Don't worry Tania-chan, even your Hachi-nii is afraid of her sometimes." He said and tickled the baby to cheer her up. He went to the sink to wash the pacifier with his free hand, and while doing so, I followed behind him and poked the baby's cheek in an attempt to cheer her up. She just made an annoyed face and turned her face away from me.

I have just been rejected by a baby, and I don't know what I feel. Though I do feel an emotion akin to sadness and disappointment.

"Looks like Tania-chan doesn't quite like you." Hikigaya-kun said as he made the baby girl laugh and squirm from his tickles.

"I didn't know that you were good with children."

"I volunteered out in the neighborhood day-care before. I used to dislike babies and toddlers, but taking care of them really changes your outlook later on." I was surprised, to be honest. I did not expect an answer like that. He did not look like the type to volunteer for things like that. Though if I said that to him out loud, it would surely make me sound like a judgmental simpleton.

"Ah, is that so..." I stepped closer and went eye-level with the baby and she eyed me cautiously.

"Tania-chan, why are you so defensive to her? Do you want to carry her?" He said to me and I nodded. I stepped closer and readied my arms.

"Try smiling at her to make her feel at ease." I followed what he said and gave the baby girl a small smile. After blinking twice and getting a word of encouragement from Hikigaya-kun, she reluctantly went to my arms.

"Hey properly position your arm."

"I know I know."

"She's squirming, that means she's uncomfortable."

"Silence."

"Shut up and listen to me. Between the two of us, I'm obviously the more experienced one."

"..."

"..."

"Yeah, just like that." His voice finally calmed down, but he still stood quite close to me. I did not mind the proximity between us since he reassured me. Holding a baby is quite a new feeling, she looked heavier than I expected and very warm and soft too. Like a heavy marshmallow...

She looked at me with wide eyes, shifting from me to Hikigaya-kun's. No doubt she is still wary of me since I am unfamiliar to her, but I'm sure Hikigaya-kun's presence is calming her down. Now that I think about it, what is her relationship to him? A little sister seems to be the most likely answer, though a baby cousin or niece is possible...

"She doesn't look like you." I say after analysing her physical features. The only visible similarity that they both have is the colour of their hair.

"Huh?" Confusion masked his face from my words.

"I thought she was your little sister...?" I say.

"No, she's not. She's Hiro-sensei's daughter." He said and another surprise came to me in such a small span of time. From my observations, the couple were very friendly to Hikigaya-kun, almost to the point of favouritism, I say. As much as teachers hate to admit, they all have that one favourite student they love. I did not envy him, but being a Teacher's favourite definitely has some advantages. Though I did not expect him to be close to them to the point that they would entrust their infant daughter to him. It seems that he is more popular and on friendlier terms with the teachers than to his fellow students.

What an amusing thought.

After getting comfortable, the baby looked up at me and smiled in a way that made my heart flutter. Using her hands, she started feeling and touching my...chest. I was frozen in place and Hikigaya-kun was in the same boat as myself, having an awkward look on his face while his lips usual straight-lined neutral lips became crooked, not knowing what to do nor say in this precarious situation.

"O-Oh..." That was all the words that came out of my mouth since I was still speechless to form any proper sentence. Hikigaya-kun did me a favour by looking away, which I was quite thankful for. Tania-chan... after several more moments of feeling me, made a disappointed sound and started squirming from my hold.

"She must want some milk."

When I heard him say that, I felt my face blush with the force of a thousand suns and steam going out of my ears.

"I... ugh, let me take her back to her Mother..." I heard him say and I idly gave him Tania-chan. She looked more delighted to be back in his arms than when she was with be, to be sure. She must really like him.

"Sorry, that sounded weird..." He muttered an apology and scratched his head.

"T-There is no need for you to apologize, what just happened was an instinctive reaction for a baby of her age." I say while putting on an air of seriousness and calm composure.

"Yeah, you're right. It's Tania-chan's fault! It's time for your punishment!" He exclaimed before tickling the baby, causing her to squirm, squeal and jerk her legs. It was nice to see this side of him, instead of the cold stoic class rep and member of the Student Council that everyone always sees. Even though his eyes are another matter, the smile that he wore right now was pure and full of warmth, and I couldn't help to smile as well.

He must really love children.

"Wanna go give back Tania-chan to her parents together?" He asked.

"Of course, but I get to carry her." I replied and he gave me back the baby. This time, she was more comfortable since she did not squirm as much as before and started playing with several strands of my hair.

He opened the door for me and we went to where the teachers were staying.

"For both our sakes, I hope she won't touch you too much this time." He said casually, and I did not get as flustered as before since I anticipated that he will say something similar to that. Though I could not resist a slight blush from his comment. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tania-chan's hands resting comfortably on her chubby tummy.

I elbowed him for his perverted remark.

"Pervert."

* * *

"Good luck with the quiz bee. Tania-chan, say good luck to Yukinoshita-nee~~..." I say in a drawn out and monotone manner since I was too tired to get hyped up for anything. Goodness, carrying around a chubby baby like Tania-chan for the entire morning really strains my arms...

"Ebebebabababa!" Tania-chan made another one of those baby sounds, causing a small smile from the Ice Queen in front of us. Wow, she made the infamous Ice Queen smile, what power...! I used her arms to give Yukinoshita a goodbye wave. From the corner of my eye I saw Miura-san walk by a small distance away, most likely going to watch the quiz bee with her friends. She turned and locked eyes with me, her face hard and neutral, and disappeared into the crowd.

I sighed; I still had no idea for the reason behind her sudden outburst this morning.

Yukinoshita on the other hand, leaned down and patted Tania-chan's head before thanking us and going on her way to go where the contestants were supposed to say.

"Looks like Tania made another friend today, thanks for spending time with her, Hikigaya." Hiro-sensei said beside me where we presided over the event. Hiro-sensei was in-charge of the quiz bee today, and I sat beside him under the large tent together with some of the teachers and Shiromeguri-senpai. The one speaking the questions would be Shiromeguri-senpai, while I'm here to...umm...wait, what am I here for, exactly? Aside from carrying Tania-chan with me, that is.

"Ne Tania-chan, what are we doing here anyway?" Since I made her sit on the table in front of us, she started playing with my face and nearly put a finger up my nose.

"Eweweweeeeehhh!" she grabbed a handful of my bangs and started pulling on it.

"Oi oi let go."

"HELLO EVERYONE AND WELCOME TO THE 2ND PORTION OF OUR ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS!" A deafening voice from the speakers assaulted my ears, thankfully, I managed to cover Tania-chan's ears just in time. The voice came from Shiromeguri-senpai who started introductions with her bubbly attitude.

"This is your Student Council President Shiromeguri Meguri and Head of The Disciplonary Committee Hikigaya Hachiman!" Senpai then thrusted the microphone in front of my face bidding me to say a word or two.

I sighed, "Good morning to everyone, I'm looking forward to a fair battle between bright minds. If we catch you cheating, you're automatically disqualified by default and sanctioned." My voice literally dripped with boredom, and Hiro-sensei cringed while Yukinoshita glared at me from afar. I felt a chill go up my spine when she eyed me with menacing intent. My voice had a more visible effect on the contestants, they looked demoralized and lost all enthusiasm upon hearing my voice.

"Hikigaya that sounded pretty lame." Hiro-sensei commented.

"Uwahhh, Hiro-sensei is right..." Shiromeguri-senpai agreed while covering the microphone.

"Aauuueeee..." Tania-chan made a low sound from within her throat and pouted at me.

Wow, even Tania-chan was disappointed at me...

While Shiromeguri-senpai was introducing the contestants, Hiro-sensei analysed the questions that were prepared beside me. His brows knitted together and his lips were pursed. After a while, he put a hand under his chin and stroked his non-existent beard.

"Hikigaya, who prepared these questions?" He turned to me and asked.

"The Student Council."

"Ah, yes of course..." he said and returned his eyes to the papers. "Why? Is there something wrong Sensei?"

He scratched his head and sported a doubtful expression. "It's just that some of these questions may be...too difficult to answer for a Highschool student..." his voice trailed off as he watched Tania-chan play with the toys that he brought.

"I'm sure that it's not too difficult Sensei, they are Sobu High students after all." I reply with confidence. He nodded at me and we both turned our attention to the quiz bee in front of us.

What he didn't know, was that the questions that I added made up at least 60% of everything, the remaining 40% were made by Shiromeguri-senpai and the others. It would have been boring as a spectator if the questions were relatively easy after all. That's why I decided to...spice things up, even though it might have been unethical and an abuse of power.

But hey, they don't need to know that, do they?

We watched the event go on in front of us and occasionally gave our inputs and insights of some of the given questions. Ino-sensei and Hiratsuka-sensei shortly joined us, and I enjoyed their company as we talked.

"I have always been fascinated by alternate history, a single change in a particular point in time would have profound effect on the future. Like what would have happened if Japan united earlier before the unification movements?" Ino-sensei spoke with passion.

"That would have had a major effect on the political climate, to be sure." Hiratsuka-sensei replied.

"Assuming that trade was controlled by a centralized government, the economy would have flourished and measures taken to actively counter piracy in the seas around the coasts." Hiro-sensei added.

"ACHEEEEE!" Tania-chan's high-pitched sneeze startled us and we all shared a laugh as Ino-sensei wiped her infant daughter's nose, to which she angrily tried to avoid but to no avail since I held her in place. I'm sorry little one.

The adults then started talking about adult stuff like taxes, politics and their careers. Since I had no interest in listening to them and also to give them privacy, I went to a quieter part under the shade of the tent together with Tania-chan.

"Let's go Tania-chan."

"Oooouuhhhhh..." she said as I stood up and walked away. While I was walking, I smirked as I heard some of the questions that I personally added in the quiz bee.

"Uwaahhh, I'm so bored..." I mutter as I idly watched the events being held unfold.

"Uuuwweehh..." She made a similar bored-sounding sound as she sat on my lap. She too, seemingly got bored of the toys that she played with earlier, and was now in a similar position as I am. I brought out my phone to play one of the daily quests from the gacha game that I recently started playing. The name of the game was FGO. It was quite difficult to play, since Tania-chan would instinctively reach out and grab whatever was within arm's reach of her, and that included my phone.

When I die and become a Heroic Spirit, I definitely want to belong in the Caster-Class. Ah, but that also depends on my Spirit Origin...

Or maybe I'll be reborn as an Avenger-Class, after a life of being unjustly judged by society just because of my appearance. After a life filled with hardship at the hands of society (especially from the brutal teenage girls with their equally brutal insults), I will become the spirit of vengeance itself. Hell bent on eradicating injustice around the world by any means necessary. My alignment would most likely be Chaotic-Good. Aside from eradicating injustice, I would also be removing all asshole Riajus on this planet.

I just hope that my title as a Heroic Spirit isn't EDGELORD.

The only thing left for me to do is to decide what to do to make me even a considerable candidate for becoming a Heroic Spirit…

Ugh, anyway…

Tomorrow would be the final day of our camping trip, and on the morning on the day the day after, we would be going back to Chiba on buses. Though my Mother absolutely insisted to personally pick me up on that day...I want to ride the bus too damnit!

I had also managed to convince Hayama-san to facilitate the practices of our teams for tomorrow's pop dance competition. Men and women's volleyball was moved to tomorrow afternoon since we had some unexpected things that happened yesterday. I had wanted to join the tennis event yesterday, but the thought of fainting again stopped me from doing so. I should seriously take better care of myself; I don't want to get hospitalized and cause any more trouble to my parents...

* * *

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

Yukinoshita was immediately surrounded, praised and congratulated by our classmates and teachers. Giving her smiles and clapping their hands as she walked by. She won the quiz bee by a landslide and only had very few incorrect answers. She acknowledged them with nods and a small upturn of her lips, but did not grace them with a full-blown smile.

Almost as if she rejected The Human Instrumentality Project just like Shinji Ikari at The End of Evangelion.

"I expected no less. Thank you for your hard work." I say and then held Tania-chan as she sat on my lap. "Tania-chan, say congratulations to Yukinoshita-nee."

"Shhhhhhhehehehe!" She laughed as she imitated the people around her and clapped.

"Good work Yukinoshita! Now we'll win the competition for sure!" Hiratsuka-sensei came and patted her shoulder, puffing out her chest out of pride. And it was quite difficult in trying to restrain my eyes from landing on them.

"Hoh, don't be so sure yet Hiratsuka-sensei. I believe with your win; we are tied among the teams now." Ino-sensei approached her with a menacing aura. I forgot to mention that these two teachers made a bet on who would win the competition. Naturally, they betted on their own respective teams.

Hiro-sensei made a troubled smile as he watched his wife and Shiromeguri-senpai announced the end of the quiz bee followed by a 30-minute break before the next event started. The crowd began to disperse and Yukinoshita made a sigh of relief. I see she still dislikes crowds, and I share the same sentiment.

"So..." she locked her eyes with me after patting Tania-chan's head and shaking her tiny hand. Her gaze said that she was expecting from me, and I had already prepared her reward.

"Here." I gave her the letter that I promised her, her finger clasped it and I let go. She examined it and her eyes widened when she recognized the seal.

"This is...the official seal of the city...how did you get this…?" she muttered with a hint of amazement.

"Yes, and it's yours. That was originally given to me, but...I have... well, _other_ plans on that day. It's a big deal to have that with you, apparently. And also, because I'm a lazy piece of shi-"

"Hikigaya-kun, please refrain from speaking profanities while in the presence of a baby." She cut me off and pointed at Tania-chan who was looking back and forth between us with curious eyes.

"Sorry. Anyway, that's yours and if I were you, I'd open it when I go home."

She arched a brow at my words but didn't say anything. After a few more silent moments she opened her mouth and said, "I demand _more_."

"More what." I arched a brow at her.

"A prize. Being suddenly part of a quiz bee without any sort of preparation is more troublesome than you think, even for one such as myself." She said and crossed her arms, her eyes arched and giving me an expectant look.

The audacity...!

" _Haaaah_? What do you want? Do you expect me to hold your hand and treat you to an expensive dinner? Or go to a ridiculously expensive cafe with over-priced coffee and pastries? No thank you. You're already loaded enough to do that yourself. Go ask your Onee-san to do that with you, I have more important stuff to deal with." I gestured with my hands as if I was shooing her away, and she did not like it in the slightest.

She visibly cringed and made a disgusted face. "Ugh, what made you think that way? Pretentious disgusting lech." She cleared her throat and continued. "The thing that I want is a favour. Simple as that."

A favour? What could she want now? This girl is getting too pushy and ordering me around. But, on a serious note, what could the great Yukinoshita Yukino planned to do that she needed a lowly mortal such as myself help on the matter...?

"What kind?" I asked.

"Nothing yet, though I may need you do to a certain something for me in the future." She said and I immediately grew suspicious. I don't know what she is planning, and neither do I want to be a part of it, but my growing curiosity on the matter was building up.

"..."

"..."

"Tch, fine. As long as its not very troublesome..." I say and admitted defeat.

"Good to see that we're in agreement." She had a sly look on her face that reminded me of a snake's. I feel as though I willfully fell into an obvious trap. My eyes fell to her hands and I noticed something odd.

"Now, do you mind telling me who is currently facilitating our team while I was away?" She asked, but before I could answer, I noticed something off.

The envelope that contained the letter was gone.

"Hey, where's the envelope?" She gave me a confused look and I saw her move her hand that had held it several moments ago and suddenly got wide-eyed when it wasn't there. She looked down and was frozen in place when her eyes rested on something. In other words, she was looking at something on my lap.

When I looked down on the infant that I held, I understood what she meant. In Tania-chan's tiny hands was the letter that I gave to Yukinoshita only several moments ago, I have no idea how Tania-chan managed to get that. But what caught me off guard was what she was doing with it. She was slowly moving it closer and closer to her mouth where she will chew and make a mess out of it. The only question that I had on my mind at that moment was how did she able to grab it from Yukinoshita in the first place…?

 **"TANIA-CHAN NO DON'T EAT THAT!"**

* * *

"Hoh, looks like we won..." I muttered to myself after Hiro-sensei announced the results. My team screamed and shouted in celebration, some dancing and jumping up and down. Victory music was blaring from the speakers, confetti was fired into the air, with several coloured strings landing on my head. I looked around and saw the other classes joining in, even the ones who lost could not resist. Our sports teams did wonderful this morning, they broke the tie that held us with the other class and made victory possible. Near the place where the teachers were staying, I saw Hiratsuka-sensei in equally good spirits, laughing and exclaiming that she had won the bet against Ino-sensei. Please act your age Sensei, you're not a teenager anymore. Now Hiro-sensei was requesting a representative to take the trophy and say some words.

I discreetly eyed the girl beside me and nudged her shoulder. She managed to find me at the front of this crowd and stand next to me to also listen to the results. I can feel how focused her eyes were and the aura of anticipation that I felt. Hoh, she must really want to win. To be honest, either result was fine for me. If we had lost, I would have just shrugged my shoulders and congratulated the winners. No use crying over spilled milk after all.

"Oi, that's your cue."

"What? I did not agree to this." She gave me an annoyed look and arched her brow.

"Go on, just do it." I nudged her again.

"You can't force me to." She was being defiant and crossed her arms around her chest and I'm starting to lose my patience. I had to sigh in exasperation because what I'm going to say next will definitely cause me to let go with the small amount of pride I have left.

"Between the two of us, this is obviously your forte. What if I screw up and bite my tongue or something? That would definitely bad, yes?" I say in my most convincing tone. I felt the gears inside her head twist and turn as she thought about my words.

"Well, if you put it that way. I would like to avoid an embarrassment just as we were starting to celebrate our victory. I guess even such a trivial thing such as this is takes too much of an effort for you, does it _Hikigaya-kun_?" She smirked and gave me a belittling-look and started walking to where Hiro-sensei was standing. Haha, you think you've won? Fool! I just gave you some small amount of time to be in the spotlight! I could went there if I wanted to!

He gave her the microphone and cleared her throat before speaking to it. Her victory speech was brief, yet every word held a deep meaning to it. The heads around me nodded as they all agreed to what she was saying. After she was done with her piece, Hiro-sensei bade the winning class to come forward to take the picture.

The girls quickly sprinted to get a good position in the photo, followed slowly by most of the guys who weren't as photogenic as them. Since we were the Representatives, we stood at the center holding the medium-sized trophy together and I had to resist the urge to wiggle away from my current spot since it was getting too close for comfort.

"Yo Hikigaya." I heard Hayama-san's voice from beside me. Since he was literally right next to me I didn't bother turning my head to him since doing so might lead to a yaoi-like situation. I saw a familiar face in the crowd already looking for BL material. Ebina-san gave me a thumbs-up from the opposing team. Finally, I've found her at last. She said she wanted my help the other day, though she didn't say what exactly.

"Ah, hello." I return him a lame greeting of my own.

He brushed it off and continued, "You know, I was expecting you to be the one to step forward, being the de facto head of our team and all." I arched a brow since his voice was low, but still loud enough for me to hear him, I remained quiet, "Tell me, why didn't you?" he asked and I started wondering. Though it didn't take too long since the answer was obvious.

"I figured that she is the more logical choice to speak for the team between the two of us." I reply as I watched the last students come over to us and look for a spot to stay.

"Hoh, is that so…" He said and trailed off. We watched some of the officers in-charge of the documentation hastily prepare that camera that stood on a tripod.

"...Thanks Hayama-san." I say.

"Hm? For what?"

"For yesterday, helping the teams prepare I mean."

"Oh that. Well I don't mind, you _did_ give me advice the other day, remember? Oh and you can drop the _-san_ already hahaha." He said in a grateful-tone and patted my right shoulder. Oi oi oi oi oi when did you put that hand on me? Is that sexual harassment? Get your hand off of me _BRUH._ Tch, this guy…getting too friendly with me…I don't remember acknowledging you as a friend, _Bro_.

Yukinoshita was quiet the entire time. Whether she was listening in on our conversation or outright refusing to acknowledge our existence, I don't know nor did I care.

"Ok! Everyone smile!" The one behind the camera said and caused everyone to smile too early.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

I didn't know if I smiled when the photo was taken, but what I do know is that I didn't make a goofy face at least.

* * *

"You sure you're not going to come ride the bus with us Hikigaya?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked as she stood in-front of the entrance of the bus. After celebrating our victory yesterday noon, the afternoon and evening was just free time for us students. Of course, I just spent most of my time sleeping, reading or playing on my phone when I wasn't helping out my class cook and clean. Last night, we had Japanese-style burger steak for dinner to celebrate, even though it was quite a bit expensive for my taste.

This morning, we made a quick breakfast that consisted of grilled fish, vegetables and the last of our meat, and after making a run for the showers since we were going to be late, made it to our rendezvous with only five minutes to spare. Ugh, even my hair is still a bit wet.

Right now, the first buses had already left, and the one carrying my class together with the teachers revved their engines.

"What time is your Mother coming?" Shiromeguri-senpai followed up with a question of her own. She's been trying to convince me to go with them on the bus all morning, no doubt she's worried because I'm being left behind.

"I'll wait for my Mother, she's already an hour and a half away I believe." I say to the both of them which caused them to look at each other with worried looks. Hiratsuka-sensei sighed in defeat and looked at her watch after glancing behind her.

"Well, if your Mother is already on the way, then I guess it can't be helped." She scratched her head. "We're going on ahead then, see you on Monday Hikigaya." She said and walked up the bus.

"WAIT!" I heard a voice, which caused me and Shiromeguri-senpai to turn to the source Hiro-sensei was walking quickly towards me while carrying Tania-chan. "I got the bus number wrong and now Ino already left…" he said while having a sheepish-look on his face. Oh, so that's why I didn't see them both this earlier…

"You can go on this one, Sensei. My Mother will be picking me up." I say. "Tania-chan," I went eye level with her to catch her attention and when she recognized me, started reaching out with her arms like before. I laughed and lightly patted her head. "Not this time little buddy. I'm not riding the bus with you. Bye bye." I held out my palm in front of her and opened and closed it, she slowly imitated me when I waved it in-front of her. I smiled, which caused her to smile in turn, and pinched her cheeks.

"Ok, I'll see you on Monday then and don't forget about the project that I assigned ok?" he said and stepped inside the bus. Tania-chan looked confused when I didn't follow them at the bus, and they disappeared from my view when they turned at the corner.

Shiromeguri-senpai soon followed Sensei, but not before patting my head and saying "Don't talk to strangers ok? We have a lot of work to do next week, so get lots of rest this weekend!" and then she followed Hiratsuka-sensei and the doors closed. The bus lurched forward, and I saw several of my classmates wave at me from the inside of the bus through the glass windows, and I gave them my own in kind. I caught a glimpse of Yukinoshita seated at the back of the bus and she gave me a quick nod of acknowledgement. When the bus disappeared into the wooded road, I walked back into the main building and went the guest's area to wait for my Mother. I had already informed the employees, so they didn't bother to approach me as I entered.

There were already new guests that had arrived, a bunch of foreigners, two men and women, to be precise. They had fair skin and seemed about in their late twenties. The first pair looked identical, with their blonde hair and facial features, I think they are siblings. They were speaking to the receptionist and I can tell that they were not going anywhere. Both parties looked confused with their messages clearly not getting to each other. The foreigners were speaking English with a heavy accent from a language that I can't determine. I sighed to myself and walked towards them.

" _Excuse me."_ I caught their attention and they had clearly not expected me to walked up to them and speak in English. _"Do you need some help?"_ After a few more moments awkward silence, one of the men apparently shook off the initial surprise and stepped up to me.

" _Oh yes yes yes we do thank you very much!"_ He exclaimed and bowed his head repeatedly in an exaggerated manner. I had to suppress a wince from the cringe since they were _those_ types of foreigners…and it bothered me how he say "Yes" three times in a row…ugh, why did I even do this in the first place.

" _I can help you translate if you want."_ I say and for the next fifteen minutes or so, I acted as a translator for them. Their questions were predictable, price of the lodging, cooking your own food outside, amenities and facilities etc. But even I had a little bit of difficulty expressing in translating some of the words, but thankfully, my message came out clear. They rented one of the rooms and brought their own food to cook. The guy at the reception finished their transaction and called a co-worker to go and check the place that was being rented.

" _Were you with the bus full of young kids just now?"_ The woman with a boyish haircut asked me.

" _Yes, I'm staying behind."_ I say, and when I didn't say anything further, nodded to herself. She was probably expecting me to continue the conversation, but I clearly remembered Shiromeguri-senpai's words earlier. "Don't talk to strangers." Was what she said, and I intend to follow it. This was just an exemption since they looked like they needed some help.

" _So you stayed here with them? How was it?"_ The first guy asked.

" _It was good."_ I say and continued. _"The facilities here are great, you made a good choice in picking this place."_

" _That's good to hear. We saw this place in our recommendations and decided to rent a car to come here. Oh, where are my manners. My name is Lukas, this is my sister Maria. We are from The Netherlands."_ They bowed in greeting and I returned one of my own. Oh, so they're Dutch. So that's the reason behind their heavily-accented English.

" _My name is Lars."_ The tall skinny guy that had been quiet all this time finally spoke.

" _I am Tess."_ The girl with the boyish haircut held out her hand for me to shake. Lars looked startled and lightly elbowed her. The both of them started speaking Dutch, and Tess, who had an initial look of confusion, finally looked like she understood what Lars was getting at. I curiously listened to their language. Ok so its Lukas, Maria, Lars and Tess. Shit, too many names! I'm starting to get overwhelmed!

" _I'm very sorry for my friend's rudeness."_ Lars said and I raised a brow at him.

" _Its fine to do a handshake here, but we don't really do it."_ I reply. They look relieved at my answer and the girl named Tess reintroduced herself once more, but opted to bow instead. Typical reaction, but a bit taken too seriously by foreigners. It's not like handshaking is considered as a massive insult here punishable by death. Seriously, we're not as uptight as the rest of the world thinks.

Lars just smiled and his companions started bombarding me with questions.

* * *

Oh no.

Oh no.

NO!

DAMNIT!

I run to the parking lot where our buses were supposed to be, only to find it empty except for a few new family cars. Looking at my watch, I was already late by thirty minutes since I took too much time in the showers. It also didn't help that no one bothered to wake me up this morning, causing me to wake up late and be the last one to finish eating and wash most of the dishes that were left in the sink. The tables were cleaned really sloppily so I had to clean it again.

Tch, useless classmates…

Great, just GREAT, now I'm stuck here until my Mom can get me and who knows how many hours that's gonna take?

I stomped the ground in frustration and sat on a nearby large rock, unceremoniously flinging my bag at the base of a tree in the process. I took deep breathes to calm me down, and slowly my rationality came back to me. My parents always told me that I was too hot-headed for my own good.

Now, what other options did I have left? I could always call my Mom, but as I said before, she's busy at work and that goes the same for my Dad. I don't have our class adviser's contact information, even though she had told us to save it on our phones in case of an emergency. Damnit, now I regret not saving it and adding it to my contacts…

After sighing to myself and getting the dust off of my bag, I stood up and walked to the main building to call the school so I can at least inform them that I was left behind. Hopefully my class figured out that I was missing and the bus is turning around right now, but I guess that's just wistful thinking. A certain someone always told me that being a blind optimist in these kinds of situations is always bad. Come to think of it, I didn't see him at all while we were here. Keika and I dropped by last week when we met Komachi at the supermarket, and I gave her some fruits so he can eat them. His fever was quite high on that day, so he wasn't able to come down the stairs…

Poor guy, I hope he's back to normal now.

A sudden gust of wind caught my surprise, and with it, came that certain smell before a storm arrives. When I looked up, a large dark cloud was already slowly moving with the direction of the wind. Woah, that is massive. I didn't see a thunderstorm forecast this morning in the news on my phone. From the looks of things, it'll be a few minutes before the downpour starts, and I do NOT want to be outside when that happens. I walked to the building with my bag in hand.

When I entered through the glass doors, the cold air from the air conditioning was a welcoming feeling. I then went to the guest's area so I can sit down and get my bearings. There was no one at the reception table and I noticed a group of foreigners being led by an employee to their lodgings on the upper floors. They were speaking in a language that I'm not familiar of. I found a vacant bench near the vending machines after buying a can of apple juice. I was still leaning down to pick it up when the doors opened and I instinctively turned my head.

The first thing that I saw was his familiar ahoge on the top of his head.

His eyes were to his phone and we soon made eye contact when he looked up from it. A small grin made its way into his lips when he saw me, and I wondered what caused him to do that.

"There you are, Kawasaki." He said as he started walking towards me. I straightened up and unconsciously started fixing my hair. As he got closer, I noticed that he had a look of relief in his eyes and I somehow felt that he was pleased, if not happy to see me. I hope I don't sound pretentious when I said that…

"H-Hey." I give him a lazy wave and he looked amused. Honestly, did something good happen? He looks too… _positive_ today. And its really unnerving me.

"Looks like I didn't have to scour the place looking for you. It would have been bad if I got caught up in the rain while looking for you. Boy am I glad to see you." He said with a smile, he was literally radiating an aura of happiness which is really out-of-character for him to do. What's his deal? Maybe he ate something bad which caused his personality to make a complete 180?

"Uhh, you too…?" I reply with uncertainty.

"Get your things ready. You're coming with me." He just stated plainly.

"What?" I blurt out, not understanding what he meant and where we were going. He gave me a confused look at tilted his head to the side. "You're stuck here right? You can go with me since my Mother is going to pick me up." he said.

"Wait wait wait, this is going too fast. First of all, how did you know?" I asked him.

"Oh, Sensei called me a few minutes ago and told me that a student was left behind here. I asked her what was the name of the student, and when I found out that it was you, I just told her that you'll be coming with me since we're in the same neighborhood." He said and shrugged his shoulders. Oh, that really makes sense and was really thoughtful of him.

"Oh, but what about the bus? What if they're coming back?"

"They'll handle it. My Mother should be here in a few minutes." He replied.

"Oh, ok." It took a few more moments for me to get my head around what he just told me, but I knew what the right words to say at this moment. "Thanks alot, that was really kind of you Hikigaya." I say with a grateful smile. He returned one of his own, albeit a small one, and I felt my cheeks get slightly warm.

"Lets take a seat there while we wait." He pointed to one of the tables that had a bag on top and went there as I tailed behind him. We sat down and he rested his head on his arms on the table.

"Still sleepy?" I asked and opened the juice that I brought with me.

He grunted a reply which I took as a yes and said, "We had to wake up early to prepare the meals and cook for the class…"

"Ah. I didn't see you during our entire three-day stay here though."

"I was just in our cabin the whole time, only going out to help out with the cooking and to occasionally meet with the teachers and the rest of the Student Council…" He said with a muffled voice since his head was still on his arms.

"I see…"

"Well, what about you?" He rested the side of his face on his arm and looked at me, but it really looked goofy to look at.

"Hmm, I guess we're on the same boat, except for the last part. Oh, we won the table tennis on the first day, I barely managed to score a few hits too." Since we were the only people here, it was deathly quiet. Thunder suddenly rocked the sky above us, and I jolted from the sound. Hikigaya was unfazed by the clap of thunder and continued to just stare at me with a bored expression.

"By the way…who was your cabin leader?" he asked.

"I forgot her name…Why do you ask?"

A menacing aura filled with dark intent suddenly surrounded him. His eyes were shadowed and I felt the temperature drop causing my hairs on my arm and at the back of my neck to stand. He smiled, but there was no trace of warmth in them. Instead, I saw a sinister one that made me think that he was a demon from the lowest pits of hell itself.

"Oh nothing. Incompetence must be punished…no? Especially one as great as this. Leaving behind a classmate while in a field trip is no laughing matter. Your Class Rep isn't going to get off lightly because of this. Tsk tsk tsk, the Principal will be furious when he hears this. I can imagine detention, several days' worth of suspension, school service and a meeting with her parents…"

Oh.

Right…

He's the head of The Disciplinary Committee…

"Oh wait, nevermind. I can just look up your class in the office next week." He suddenly said and quickly returned to normal. _"Finally! Someone to report! Hehehehe…"_ I heard him mutter but he stopped when he noticed me staring.

I laughed awkwardly and quickly racked my brain to continue the conversation. It was quite difficult, because I'm not the most talkative person in our class after all. Though I wasn't able to say anything since a strong downpour just cut me off and started hammering outside.

"Oh, it started raining." I caught myself saying

"Hmm." He just hummed a reply and started playing with his phone on the table.

Stupid me! What the heck was that, _"Oh, it started raining."_?! That was so damned obvious! That was probably the stupidest, blandest and most obvious thing to say! I mentally slapped myself for that stupid comment on the weather.

"By the way, are you back to normal now?" I asked him because I remember that he was really sick a week or two ago, not to mention that he was absent from school for two weeks. I do hope he managed to catch up to their new topics and lessons in class. "I'm fine now, but I'm not allowed to do sports and whatnot for a while longer." He said while not breaking eye contact with his phone. He sighed, "I know I can do it, but I just don't want to test my luck."

"Anemia, right? Komachi told me all about it last week."

"Yeah, nothing too serious for now. Honestly, it's nothing to worry about. I just have to eat more than usual, take my medication for another two months and stop doing my part-time job. I even stopped going to Tatsumi-sensei for training. Ugh, I miss taekwondo…" He said everything so nonchalantly, but from the way he said the last part, I have a feeling that it really makes him feel down.

I frowned and felt like he was underestimating his condition. I've read that anemic people sometimes suddenly faint when under high stress and have labored breathing which causes panic attacks. Because of the lack of blood in the body, the heart takes a bigger effort in quickly transporting everything to everywhere to compensate for the lack of precious blood. Even though you're breathing normally, the lack of oxygen makes you feel like you need to breathe in more. And the lack of oxygen to the brain causes headaches, dizziness and fainting. I did my research, and I think I've got the gist of things.

But at the same time, I know he's responsible enough to follow what his doctor advised him.

For a little while, we just silently listened to the rain outside. Neither of us said anything, but the silence that enveloped us was comforting. I sighed and rested my head on the table like him. This is the first time that I got some quiet time these past three days. The girl's quarters were really noisy, full of chatter, loud music and laughter. I just wanted to sleep but those things always kept me up. That's why I had a lack of sleep on the day after and I didn't even participate much in the events.

 _*Yawn*_

His phone suddenly had a notification, and I saw him slowly open it.

"Oh, looks like Mother's here." He said and moved to get up. I followed suit. After getting our bags and making sure to check our belongings, we made our way to the main entrance, but before we opened the doors, I had to say something.

"Hey, do you have a jacket or something?" I asked him while eyeing the rain outside, it was still quite strong, but at least the wind had died down a bit. Through the glass, I spotted his Mother's car parked a distance away with the lights blinking.

"Yeah, what about you." He took out the said jacket from his bag and unfolded it.

"Uhh…no…" I had a sheepish look on my face as I laughed awkwardly. Damnit, I should have listened to Dad…

He nodded, and said. "Ok, we can go together under mine." He put it over his head and beckoned me to follow him. It was barely big enough and we were quite close inside, but at least it kept the rain away.

"I hope you don't mind if we walk. It would be problematic if we ran through the wet ground and slipped."

"Ok." I nodded at him.

We stepped outside and slowly walked under the rain with his jacket over our heads. I didn't even have to hold onto it since he was already doing it for me. He was facing forward with his eyes slightly closed to protect it from the rain. I used my left hand to hold him so we can walk in sync, our footsteps soon matched.

I accidentally stepped on a puddle that I didn't see, time seemed to slow down as I lost my sense of balance and started to fall. Luckily, a strong and firm arm had already made its way around my waist.

"Woah, Kawasaki are you ok?" I looked up to him to find his face filled with worry. Rain started to hit me since the arm that protected me had prevented me from falling. My eyes were hit and I instinctively put my hand to protect them.

"Yeah, thanks for that." I shivered when his arm was around me, causing goosebumps to form on my neck. His reaction speed was impressive and I had a feeling that he was _expecting_ me to slip. Ugh, I should have walked slower and didn't get reckless. I got up and he removed his arm from my waist.

And then flicked my forehead, causing me to yelp in surprise.

"Eeep!"

"I told you to walk slowly." I was startled since I obviously didn't expect him to do that. His right arm returned to sheltering me under his jacket. The look on his face reminded me of my own whenever I'm reprimanding Keika or any of my younger siblings for doing something that I specifically told them _not_ to do.

"Y-Yeah, sorry." I was too embarrassed to look at him in the eye, but I heard a hum of reply from him. We resumed walking and I noticed that his pace was slower, so I slowed down too to match his. He's taller now, I mean the difference in our height wasn't that much before, but now I can really notice it. Even in my class, I'm the tallest among the girls. Boys really grow fast huh.

He opened the door for me at the passenger's seat and I said my thanks as I went inside. I was immediately greeted his Mother who was complaining about the weather. The door to my left opened and he rushed inside as well, the tips of his hair slightly dripping with rainwater.

"Saki-chan! Haa-chan! Sorry that I couldn't park closer!" She deeply apologized when she saw how slightly wet we were from the rain.

"Its fine Mom." He said and started storing away his wet jacket and rummaging through his things.

"Yeah, thanks for giving me a ride, Auntie." I gave his Mother a grateful smile. God knows how many hours I would have had to wait in there if I decided to wait for my Mom…

"No problemo! Now, are we ready to go?" She looked at us for confirmation and I turned to Hikigaya beside me. After fastening our seatbelts and with a simple nod from him, his Mother returned her attention in-front of her and started the vehicle. A small white towel suddenly fell at my lap from his direction.

"Dry your hair with that." He said and I did what I was told. I started with my slightly wet scalp and made my way down. Ugh, sometimes having such long hair like mine can be a hassle, especially when drying it. At least its straight and smooth, not having curly ends here and there. If I did have the latter, I think I would have liked to cut my hair short than to put up with it and the extra effort needed to maintain it.

"Good thing I brought extras…" I heard him say to himself.

From the corner of my eye, he stopped drying his hair and just watched me with fascination as I dried my silvery-blue locks with the small towel that he provided for me. His eyes following my fingers as I ran them through my hair. _Captivated_ , would be the right word, I think. I wasn't creeped out or anything like that. Instead, I was delighted that he likes it and I smirked at myself at the thought. Hehehehe…

"Say," I said and turned to him, while still doing my hair, "do you think I should cut my hair short?" I asked to poke a reaction out of him.

He widened his eyes, as if I just told him that he was going to be wed to the daughter of the Emperor, " **WHAT?! NO!** " He nearly screamed out. Well, not really _nearly_ since he _did_ scream but…yeah.

"Hachiman! Don't startle me like that! We're on the highway!" His Mother exclaimed and he quickly apologized.

He cleared his throat once to compose himself from his slightly flustered face. "To answer your question, I think your hair is fine as it already is. It's really suits you."

"R-Really?"

His mother answered for him this time. "He has a good eye like his Mother! He's right y'know. Your hair is really pretty Saki-chan and it would be such a shame if you cut it short." I saw her grin at me from the mirror.

"Oh, I see. Thanks." Being someone who isn't used to being complemented, I just gave a shy reply as I returned my attention to my hair. We were still around two hours away from Chiba, notwithstanding any possible traffic ahead. I just idly watched the scenery pass by in a blur. The countryside was a refreshing escape from the city life, being surrounded by nature and all. I learned a lot during the trip, but I'm not sure if I'd like to go with my class again. If given the chance, I'd like to go with myself or at most with one person.

My eyes started to get heavy and I caught myself almost nodding off. Hikigaya had already closed his eyes and leaned on the headrest behind him, but he would occasionally open them from time to time. For a little while, I copied him but the headrest was too hard and wasn't comfortable to rest on. I just kept fidgeting in my seat until I heard his voice.

"Come here." He said with one eye lazily open and beckoned me to come closer. After I unfastened my seat-belt, I scooted closer to him. "What?" I say while once again fastening the seat-belt next to him.

Wordlessly, he used his right hand and gently guided my head to his shoulder. His hand was really warm and I couldn't find it in myself to resist.

"You can lean on me for the mean time. We still have ways to go." He muttered and returned his hand to his lap.

"O-Oh. Thanks…" I was too tired and sleepy to be embarrassed, so I made myself comfortable on him. After re-positioning myself a few more times, I finally found a position that I felt comfortable in. I unconsciously matched his breathing, and our chests went up and down in unison. His eyes were closed, but I can tell that he's still awake. I felt the small signs of his heartbeat, and it was a relaxed rhythm. My eyes started to close as I felt sleep finally take over me, but not before I heard something from Auntie that would have made me cover my face in embarrassment if I wasn't too tired to do so.

"Hoh, how cute…"

* * *

 _ **EYYYYYY WUS POPPINNN muh childrons!**_

 _ **It's ya boi Ivanov117 back again with another chapter!**_

 _ **13k words, wow.**_

 _ **Home sweet home after two weeks in the US, and I've been writing there and even on the plane and in our rented car too. Mexican food is love, Mexican food is life.**_

 _ **Ok let's put my ramblings about my trip to the side and talk about the more important stuff, yes?**_

 _ **First of all, Yukinoshita asserts her dominance and flexes her strength once again. She refuses to be below him and we can see some friendly rivalry between them. Well, I don't think Hikigaya is aware that she sees him as such, but maybe he's seen some hints here and there...I'm sure he won a lot of points when she found out that he's good with kids!**_

 _ **Now for Saki-chan! Her and Hachiman really are getting closer huh? It really helps when you're neighbors, and your little sister is charmed by him. Sometimes coming over in the weekends to play and hang out and all. Hachiman was an absolute CHAD when he protected her from the rain, and he definitely won a lot of points on her when he let her sleep on his shoulder!**_

 _ **His Onii-chan instincts are always on high alert!**_

 _ **As always, reviews and PM's are welcome. I don't mind reading through them, it really helps me understand the reader's perspective and how they interpret some of the scenes.**_

 _ **Adios mi amigos!**_


	25. He Never Fails To Impress Her

The rain outside continued to hammer the car as we sped back towards the city. Because of the rain, vision on the road was only limited to about 10 meters at most, causing us to move more slowly and my Mother to turn on the headlights. I had already texted Hiratsuka-sensei and Shiromeguri-senpai that Kawasaki was with me and we were on our way home. Sighing, I opened my phone with my left hand and used the GPS app to see where we are right now. To my disappointment, we were still quite a distance away, and it looked like the rain won't let up anytime soon. Ugh, I want to go home and sleep…maybe eat a bowl of spicy cup ramen noodles too.

Or ice cream, either is fine.

A slight movement on my right shoulder alerted me and I turned my attention to the mop of silvery-blue hair. I had put my arm around her to keep her from moving too much, and whenever there were sharp turns and such, I would gently place my hand on her head. She had fallen asleep half an hour ago, and I couldn't sleep anymore. I watched her sleeping form; she had a serene look on her face, her eyes covered by her hair and lips were slightly parted as she breathed. She nuzzled her head on my shoulder, and I just watched her.

When I looked at the mirror, I saw my Mother give me a sly grin and giggle to herself. Damnit Mother, not now please. Thankfully, I didn't get flustered earlier when I made such a bold move. I just said whatever I had on my mind and my hands moved on their own. I was afraid that she might slap my hand away or something, call me a creep, but she just went with it and muttered her thanks. My Onii-chan instincts activated, and before I knew it, I found myself in this current situation. I don't know why I'm so calm, I'm sure other boys of my age, I think, would be a fidgeting flustered mess if they were in my shoes.

Truly, what I did was a purely platonic act with no ulterior motives in mind, a simple gesture of goodwill. Of course, if I was in her shoes, I would have gladly accepted an offer for me to lean on her shoulder with a straight face.

I do hope she won't think that I'm a creep or anything…

Eventually, after another hour or so, the rain had lessened quite a bit and we were soon welcomed by the tall buildings of Chiba. Kawasaki was still asleep, though I felt her phone vibrate a few times, I should tell her that when she wakes up. I asked my Mother where my Father was, and she said that the ship that he had commissioned had already arrived at the port of Tokyo, and there was a party scheduled to celebrate its safe arrival. I barely see him nowadays, him being always busy and all. He said that he has a futon in his office where he would sometimes spend the night when it got too late to come back home to Chiba. I thought that it might be dangerous, but I remembered that he owned the building and security measures had already been considered. Come to think of it, I've never been to his workplace…

Thirty minutes later, we entered our neighborhood and stopped right in front of our humble abode. It was a shame to wake up the person sleeping peacefully beside me. I mean, I always wake up a bit annoyed whenever someone or something wakes me up.

* * *

"-saki…Kawasaki…"

Ugh…

I felt being lightly shaken by my shoulder with a soft gently voice calling me.

"-saki…we're here…"

I groaned and groggily opened my eyes, and lifted my head from his shoulder. The rain had lessened to a drizzle and we were already in front of their house. He looked at me with a blank expression as I was still taking in my surroundings and fixing my hair. Wordlessly, he opened the door to the left side of the vehicle and stepped out. Shortly after, the door to my right opened and he was already carrying an umbrella over his head. I was about to go and grab my bag but he had already taken our bags with his other hand. This guy really thinks and acts in advance huh.

"Come on."

I turned to Auntie at the driver's seat and thanked her, and then she directed her attention to her son, "Hachi dear, cook up some lunch for Saki-chan. We still have lots of food in the fridge, you can just re-heat them in the microwave. I still have to go back to downtown." He nodded at her and I stepped out of the vehicle. We waved and watched her speed away, and after a few moments when she disappeared from view, started walking to their front door.

"I hope you'll stay for lunch." He said.

I gave him a small sheepish smile. "Well, what Auntie said earlier was more or less an invitation so…if it's not too much trouble, then I'd love to."

He nodded at me and opened the door. We changed our shoes into indoor ones and he placed our bags on the couch. Komachi must be out since her Mother didn't mention her being home. We heard a meow and Kamakura's head appeared from the stairway.

"Oh snap. I'll go get Kamakura and put him in Komachi's room." He hurriedly said and grabbed the cat and ran upstairs. I nodded at him and lightly laughed when he nearly tripped as he carried his pet. My allergies aren't acting up like before the time I came here, when I would repeatedly sneeze until my nose got red and itchy. Now, it does get slightly itchy from time to time, but not too much. Thankfully, Kamakura's hair is quite short and he prefers to stay on the ground instead of on the sofa from what Hikigaya had said.

I made myself comfortable on the couch, and heard the opening and closing of a door upstairs. He came down with a towel and some fresh clothes in his hand. "I'll take a bath since we got slightly wet from the rain earlier. I'd recommend you do the same." He said. Oh yeah, we got slightly drenched earlier and it was…my fault.

I blinked twice at his statement and thought about it. Well, what he said was very logical, but being a girl, I have some reservations… ah to heck with it! I still have some new clothes here anyway, and he's not that that kind of guy, he's probably only being considerate for my well-being! Plus, I don't want to get sick! "Ok, I'll go after you." He nodded at me and he disappeared into the bathroom.

To pass the time, I took out a sandwich that I had made back at the camp from my bag and started munching on it since I was getting slightly hungry. My phone vibrated and I saw that it was a text message from my Mom asking me where I am. I quickly replied and told her everything that happened this morning. After a few minutes, she replied _"Ok, I'll see you home then. Don't forget to thank Hitomi and her son for their hospitality."_ And promptly ended the conversation. I was a bit sad that she didn't ask me anything else or how my day went, she was never the most expressive Mom to my siblings. Always working with my Dad, to support our family, but almost never having some time to spare to spend with us.

Sometimes I forget that my Mom and Auntie were friends who worked in the same company a few years back. They would sometimes drink after work and eat dinner together. Unfortunately, after Keika was born, Mom had to work in another company that offered a higher salary, at the cost of longer working hours, that's how they lost connection for some time, both of them became busy with their families, even though they lived in the same neighborhood. They became friends again when Auntie became the Chairwoman of the neighborhood association since there was a meeting 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month. I heard that they would sometimes meet and talk over a cup of coffee from Hikigaya.

The unmistakable sound of a door opening caused me to look behind me. He wore beige shorts and a simple white t-shirt as he dried his hair with a white towel. "Sorry for the wait." He said as he started making his way to me.

"Not really. Do you always take a shower that fast?" I say and arched a brow at him. He nodded at me after giving me a pink towel for me to use and started making his way to the kitchen. I smelled the familiar gentle scent coming from him that I took note of whenever we walked together at school. "I'll fix something good for lunch. Do you want anything in particular?" He said as he put his head inside the fridge looking for something.

"Anything is fine." I call out to him before closing the door to the bathroom.

The inside was similar to what we had at home. A small sink with a mirror, and under that were several drawers that most likely contained toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. A small wooden basket for used clothes just before the screen door that led to the bathroom. I took off the indoor slippers that I wore and started taking off my clothes. After placing them on the basket, I went inside and closed the screen door behind me. Just like before, their layout was surprisingly similar in our house. A large bathtub that was slightly elevated and a mirror in front of a red plastic stool for you to sit on while you wash yourself. Near the mirror that was a shelf that contained the shampoo, conditioners, body soaps etc. There was also a control panel on the wall that had many features, we had those at home but it broke.

As I was about to turn on the water the shower, I was startled when the control panel made a tune and I heard his voice from the other side.

" _Kawasaki?"_

"Y-Yeah?" I say after standing up and pressing the "Speak" button.

" _Oh good this thing still works. Anyway, you can use whatever shampoo or body soap you like on the shelves ok?"_

"Ok." The control panel ended with a beep, leaving me alone to my thoughts. I shrugged and turned on the water to the shower, eager to take a refreshing bath and get a new change of clothes. Instead of warm water hitting my face, I was met with a bone-chilling temperature that made me shriek in surprise.

"AAAAAHHH!" I cringed away from the water after turning it off, I shivered as I stood up and adjusted the temperature to a warmer one. The control panel beeped again, _"Oi! Kawasaki! Did something happen?!"_ His voice sounded slightly frantic and filled with worry, hearing me suddenly scream must have really startled him. I dried my hand and pressed the button again.

"Sorry, I was just surprised at the cold water that's all." I say

I heard him audibly sigh in relief, _"Ugh, damnit. Sorry about that. I sometimes like showering in cold water. I should have returned the temperature back to normal. My bad."_

"No, it's my fault, I should have checked it first. Sorry for startling you."

" _Anyway, if you need anything, just press the button."_ He said and the line on his end closed with a tune.

Once I turned on the shower and adjusted the water temperature, I FINALLY started what I came here to do. I picked the shampoo that he used since it had the same aroma and started washing my hair with it. It smelled really nice, and I think I'll buy one just like this once I go back to the grocery. I do have a day off today, but I have a shift tomorrow and the day after. Come to think of it, would that make him think I'm a creepy girl if he found out that I'm copying him? I mean, if some guy did that I would definitely be creeped out.

On the other hand, if it was him then…

I wouldn't mind, I guess…

I forcefully shook my head because of the direction where my thoughts were headed.

I took my time cleaning myself and enjoying the heat of the water, and rinsing myself one last time, I stood up and grabbed my towel to dry myself. Ah, that felt good. Nothing beats a refreshing shower after all. I can hear something being fried from their kitchen, and I wanted to go outside as soon as possible to at least help him out in preparing lunch for us. I lightly dried myself a bit and closed the screen door behind me as inspected myself in front of the mirror. I had put the towel around my hair in a neat bun to prevent from dripping on the floor. Satisfied with how I looked, I went to get my new clothes from my bag, but I realized something.

I forgot to bring my clothes inside with me.

I gave myself a facepalm. Why did I forget _that_ of all things? Ugh, this isn't me at all! I carefully opened the door at peeped my head out while the rest of my body was behind the door. I saw him still in the kitchen diligently chopping vegetables, while simultaneously checking the flame under the frying pan and seeing if the rice was already done and ready to eat. Through the sound of something being fried, I heard him humming the tune of a familiar song, but I couldn't exactly tell what. What he was cooking smelled really good, and I heard my stomach rumble in response.

"H-Hikigaya…?" I called out to him after mentally preparing myself.

"Hai hai Hikigaya desu~." After putting down the knife, turned his head to me and I instantly saw his eyes widen before quickly looking away from me. It was quite funny, looking at his half-lidded eyes suddenly enlarging like a balloon when he saw me. I inwardly rolled my eyes at him. Oh come on, now that was just plain overreacting! Its not like I'm stark naked, I'm only showing my head for God's sake!

"Can you get my bag? It's on the couch beside yours." I say and pointed him in the right direction. He nodded while not daring to look at me and went and retrieved my bag. I gave him a smug grin when he started walking towards me. There was still some pink left on his cheeks while he refused to look at me in the eye with a disgruntled expression.

"Pfff, look at you, getting flustered from such a little thing." I teased when I received my bag. Even if he's the most serious person in our year, he is still a guy, and his earlier reaction was to be expected. Still, seeing him look like that was worth the embarrassment on my part.

He put a hand on his hip and shook his head at my response. "Lunch is almost ready. Finish up quick so we can eat. You could have used the control panel you know…" He said and walked back to the kitchen. After closing the door and quickly changing into my new clothes which consisted of a casual light-brown free flowing skirt that ended below my knee and a white long-sleeved semi-fitting blouse. I had bought the latter a few days ago and this is the first time that I'll wear it. After using their hair dryer, a bit, I tied my hair into a ponytail. I did a few twirls around the mirror and nodded to myself. Hoh, I feel really pretty in this. I put my laundry inside my bag, and after I checked myself once more in the mirror to make myself more presentable, combing and straightening my hair a few more times, went outside.

He was just putting the stir-fried vegetables, which smelled amazing by the way, on the plate when I walked up behind him and stood on my toes while holding his shoulder for balance to see what he was cooking. I looked to the dinning table and he already made pork and chicken tonkatsu with sliced cabbages and coleslaw and grilled salmon with a side of miso soup. Wow, I must have been in the bathroom longer than I thought for him to cook this much…

"You cooked quite a lot; can I help with anything?" I say.

"Hmm, well can you set the plates and chopsticks?" He said and turned to me, but not before giving me a top-to-bottom look and arched an eyebrow.

"What's with the get up? Going for a job interview or something…?" He said cheekily.

After poking his rib as payback, I replied. "I just bought these a few days ago. Might as well wear them."

He nodded, gave me another complete look, and said. "I see. You have good taste. Well it really suites you, Kawasaki." He returned his attention to what he was doing before seeing my reaction.

I blushed of course, being complemented out of nowhere is pretty foreign to me. The way that he said in so nonchalantly said that there was no underlying meaning to what he said. Like he was just stating an obvious fact. After shrugging to myself and thanking him, I then went to where they put their utensils and placed them on the table. On a closer look, he cooked more than needed, I think you can feed about four people with the food on the table. He sure went overboard…

I pulled my sleeves up to keep them from getting in the way of my hands and went back and disposed of the leftover ingredients like some bits of cabbage here and there and the eggshells. There was still some meat left so I put them back in the freezer to prevent them from becoming spoiled. When I opened it, it had a surprising amount of ice cream and mochi desserts. For the spices, condiments and remaining breading mix, I returned them back to small cabinet where they belonged. I cleaned a few spills here and there, all the while being careful not to get my clothes dirty. I caught him eyeing me while I was leaning down after putting the half-sliced cabbage back in the lower vegetable compartment. Ha! Caught red-handed! Instead of quickly looking away out of embarrassment like I was expecting, he held his gaze and hummed to himself.

"…" He put a hand under his chin and nodded to himself after muttering something.

"What?" I asked him with a serious face. I was tempted to say _"Like what you see~?"_ , like in movies, but that was _WAY_ too embarrassing I think I'd literally die if I say that. Plus, I don't want him to think that I'm _that_ kind of girl!

He slowly clapped his hands a few times, " _Omedetou_ , you knew your way around our kitchen more than I anticipated." While his praise was out of nowhere, I guess he's right. I _have_ been here many times already during the weekends whenever Keika would want to come over and play with them. On the rare occasions that she would be at home, Auntie would always invite us for lunch, which I couldn't refuse. Since his shift started on the afternoon, he would play with Keika until the time came for him to go to work, and it just so happens that my part-time job at the grocery store starts at that time. Regardless, I couldn't help a blush from his words and walked past him with his arm in tow. "C-Come on. Let's eat."

"Hai hai…" He said in a drawn-out manner and just lazily followed me. He sat at the head of the table while I sat on his right. Looking at the food in front of me and from the aroma that it gave off, my stomach rumbled in response. Hiding my embarrassment as best as I can, I looked to him to see if he heard it. He had a poker face on but slightly cracked when I turned to him. He lightly started chuckling when he saw me pouting at his reaction.

"Hahahahaha."

"H-Hey!" To get his attention, I softly kicked his leg and he immediately stopped. "Fine, fine geez…can't I laugh every once in a while…?"

""Itadakimasu…"" We said together and started eating. Since the fried chicken looked quite appetizing, I reached out to it first. Unfortunately, we had the same idea since we both had our hands on the plate at the same time. He quickly retracted his hand and I followed suit. "Please, after you." He said gestured and I accepted.

After taking a bite, it tasted quite good, the sauce that came with the chicken also complimented it quite nicely.

"This is pretty good." I say after sipping a bit of miso soup and getting a piece of pork.

"Thanks." After that, we continued eating while having small bits of conversation here and there. The vegetables were quite spicy, and I started heating up and sweat a bit. I observed him to see if he was the same as me, but apparently, he was unaffected. I opened the top button of my blouse to try and cool myself down.

"Are you feeling hot…?" He asked with an arched brow when he saw me do it. I felt a bit of sweat trail down from my forehead to the side of my face before I could wipe it away, his eyes were glued to it the entire time.

"Oh, sorry. Spicy foods aren't really my strong suit…" I say and gave him an apologetic smile. He got up and went to get a fan towards our direction. When I felt the air hit me, it instantly cooled me down considerably.

"I didn't know that you liked spicy food." I say in an attempt to make conversation with him. This is my chance to get to know him better! I mean, even though we've known each other for almost a year, I still know quite little about him. He hardly talks about himself and when asked, his answers are either vague or too short. It's hard for me to admit but I still don't know much about the boy beside me.

He shrugged at me. "A bit. Sometimes I get the sudden urge to eat something spicy, usually spicy ramen noodles or curry rice. It's the same with my Father." I nodded and watched as he continued eating the remaining chicken and vegetables. For me, to play the part of a grateful guest, I sliced off a chunk from the salmon and paired it with the soy sauce on the table. I tasted heavenly when I ate it with the miso soup.

"Ah, Keika is the same as me. She can't handle spicy food. Though Taishi doesn't mind it." I say.

"Taishi…your little brother?" He asked with a questioning look. Oh, he didn't meet Taishi yet huh.

"Yeah, including him, there's still three other siblings of mine that you haven't met yet." I replied which caused a small grin to form on his face. "Sounds like your house is quite lively."

I unknowingly let out a tired sigh when he said that. Just thinking about it already makes my head ache. Between taking care of my other siblings, doing school work and my part-time job, I barely have time for myself. Mom must be at the house today since she didn't call me to go home as soon as possible. My parents usually come home from work at around 10:00pm, and by that time we're already asleep. Though sometimes, Mom comes earlier and we cook dinner together. In the morning, both of them send my three youngest siblings to school, while Taishi and I walk together until we separate further down the road.

"It is." I say.

He smirked at my reply and said, "Tell me about it, Komachi can be quite a handful sometimes, not to mention being a bit of an airhead..."

I ate a little after that, but I was just waiting for him to finish so we can do the dishes together. His phone rang from his pocket, and he got it out while sipping from some miso soup. The contents inside the message must have bothered him since he immediately had a tired look in his eyes after putting his phone down.

"Was it Komachi?" I asked before eating a small broccoli.

He shook his head. "No, just a message from Shiromeguri-senpai telling us to get ready since we're going to start the preparations for the Third-Year graduation next week. Good grief, work again…" He said and his mood immediately went spiraling down.

"How did you end up in that position again? What was it, Head of the Disciplinary Committee?" I asked.

"A recommendation from Shiromeguri-senpai, she appointed it to me since I'm the one who…uhh… _you know._ Did this, did that…" His voiced trailed off as he shrugged and looked away, I immediately understood him. For someone like him, he is very modest about himself, never bragging about his achievements and being arrogant. Almost as if he's embarrassed to talk about it. I know some people who would act like arrogant little shits if they were like him, acting high and mighty, thinking themselves to be superior to everyone else.

In other words, he's a big shot on paper, but he absolutely refuses to acknowledge the whispers from the students around him. Be they praises and words of admiration, or of spite and jealousy. He shrugged everything off like it was nothing, and continued acting like he was just an average student.

"-saki?" He suddenly called out.

"Y-Yes? Sorry, I spaced out for a sec there. What were you saying again?" I apologized and got a hold of myself. That was…really rude for me to space out mid-conversation.

He had a look of understanding. "As I was saying, was the food to your liking?"

I vigorously nodded my head in response to his question. "Of course it was!" I blurted out too loud earning a laugh from him.

After finishing the remaining food that we had on our plates, we put them away and I put the leftover food in their fridge. For someone as skinny as him, he ate quite a lot since there were only a small amount of food left. He put away the food waste in the organic garbage bin after putting the plates in the sink. I was about to roll my sleeves up and wash the dishes, but he called me over to the couch while holding a small bowl with a spoon. He wordlessly gave it to me and opened the T.V. and sat down. I followed suite and on the coffee table was some vanilla and mocha flavored ice cream.

"I'll do the dishes later. Let's have some dessert first." He said as he scooped a bit of mocha while he looked for an interesting channel to watch in the T.V. I raised a brow at how… _relaxed_ he is right now, more relaxed than I ever seen him before. "If you say so…" I say and got myself some Vanilla.

After several channels, he stopped at one the caught his interest, an anime of some sorts, it just started its opening song. It was a school setting and one can already see who the main cast was due to the color of their hair and with their own distinct characteristics, like in most anime. He leaned back and rested on the cushion behind us and I did the same. We had some bits of conversation here and there, since I started getting into the show as well, the animation and soundtrack was amazing. I asked him if it was the first time that he saw it, and he said yes. He didn't look at me in the eye though and just nodded while having a slight look of discomfort in his eye. It was already halfway into the show that I realized how close I sat next to him; our thighs were literally stuck together.

O-Oh, so that's why he looked really bothered and would fidget every now and then…

Without making it too obvious, I reached out my hands towards the ice cream while making it not look like I scooted slightly away from him. We were still quite close, though he now had a more relaxed look in his eye.

After the show ended, he got up and insisted that he'll do the dishes alone. Of course, I wanted to help him, but he put a gentle hand on my shoulder and made me sit back on the couch. After asking if I was done with the ice cream, to which I said yes, he got the used plates on one hand and the ice cream on the other.

"Now now, just stay here and relax. I'll do it myself." He said, which caused me to pout as he had an amused look on him when he went back to the kitchen. Sighing to myself, I returned my attention to the T.V. and looked for something interesting to pass the time. It was a cooking show, the chef showed a salmon for the audience to see, before filleting it in seconds with a very sharp knife. He made three more dishes before I heard Hikigaya's footsteps come toward me.

"Oh, its Ushio-sensei." He exclaimed from the kitchen just as he was finishing things up and wiped his hands dry.

" _Sensei?_ You personally know him?" I asked him with surprise evident in my voice.

"Oh no, I sometimes watch his show and take note of some of his recipes, that's all." He said and returned to sitting next to me. We both watched with fascination as the chef brought out a slab of beef, it looked normal to me, just your average everyday beef. Hikigaya on the other hand, had an intense look on his face as he watched the T.V. screen.

"Holy shit Wagyu Beef…A5 too…" He muttered to himself.

"What's so special about it? It looks like regular beef to me." I asked since I didn't quite know what the hype was about. I do hear about Wagyu Beef but I never bothered to know more about it.

"Its super expensive, and the cattle that belong to the specific breed undergo strict feeding, breeding and care. Their meat is incredibly tender, from what I hear. And it also has a buttery flavor which made it famous in the first place." He said. I just nodded and resumed watching the T.V.

The chef then sliced it into cubes and rectangles and carefully placed them on the grill. Hikigaya was literally enthralled by the sight, there were some stars in his eyes when I turned to him. After a few minutes, the beef was grilled to perfection and the camera crew made a ridiculous close-up shot of the chef eating the beef. The audience roared with laughter when they saw the sight.

"Want to eat some?" He suddenly said.

"What?"

"Wagyu Beef. My treat."

"Huh…uuummmm...but why…?"

"Because I want to." He shrugged and had a childlike glint in his eyes that made me feel that if I said no, he would grab me by the hand and literally drag me to a wagyu restaurant downtown. He looked very determined and I gulped since it was quite difficult for me to say no because he had unknowingly inched his face closer to mine. He smelled really nice; it was a gentle calming scent that I slowly grew accustomed to. I can see my own reflection from his irises, the girl that I saw looked nervous and speechless with a slight blush. Uwaah, is he doing this on purpose? I highly doubt it, maybe this is normal for him since Komachi can be quite… _clingy_ to him at times.

"U-Uuuummm…" I mumble not being able to form any words given the situation that I'm in.

"…"

"Uhhhhh…"

"…"

"Ok _fine_ …" I relented and he immediately nodded and pulled away from me. Phew, if that had taken longer, I doubt I can take it. I would have probably fainted out of embarrassment on the spot.

"So, when are you free?" He asked.

Hmm…tomorrow and the day after that is definitely a no go. Same with the weekdays, if I don't go home soon no one will be there to cook for my siblings. I also don't want to bother and tire him out in the weekday after school since he still has work to do...So that only leaves the weekend next week, but I also have my part-time job…ugh, this was warder than I expected.

I scratched my head in frustration. "I don't think I'm free next week, but I'll contact you when I am." I say.

He blinked twice at my question, as if there was something off about it. "You have my contact information?" He tiled his head to the side when he asked.

"Oh, I just realized that I don't." Ah that was stupid of me. He got his phone and gave it to me with his number already displayed on the screen. Once I retrieved mine, I copied it to my phone and gave it back to him. I waited for him to say something, but he just stared blankly at me, as if waiting for me to say something too. It was a bit awkward since none of us spoke, but he thankfully broke the silence first.

"So…what do you want to do?" He asked. Well, we had lunch and dessert, watch an anime together along with the cooking show just now…what _is_ there else to do? I mean, its not like I'm in a rush to go home or anything, but I can't think of anything else for me to do here. With my head devoid of any answer, I just shrugged my head at him, hoping that he has an idea in that brilliant mind of his.

In the end, I decided to go home and give him some privacy. After grabbing my things and waiting for him to lock the door to their house, he walked me home with an umbrella above us. The sun was already peeking through the clouds, and although it still wasn't hot, he insisted to stay under an umbrella since he said the he gets sunburns easily. Around twenty minutes later, we stopped right in front of our house, and I asked him if he wanted to come inside.

"No thanks, I'm fine."

"Oh…well. Thanks for giving me a ride, treating to lunch and walking me home." I say awkwardly. I didn't expect him to deny my offer and my plan failed before it even started.

 _Tch._

He had a look of amusement from my reply. "Did you really have to spell _everything out_ …?" He laughed a little and I started laughing too.

"Cut me some slack, I'm not good with words y'know." I replied. It's been a while since enjoyed myself this much, he's a pretty good guy to hang out with, once you get to know him better. He's one of the few people that I trust outside of my family. It's no wonder Keika likes him, and I have a feeling that Taishi will too. Come to think of it, aren't Taishi and Komachi schoolmates…?

"Well, don't let me keep you. I'll see you around Kawasaki."

"Yeah, you too." He curtly nodded in return after I gave him a small wave. He lingered for a moment, as if wanting to say something more, but decided against it. With that, he promptly turned and walked away, I watched his back for a little while and he didn't look back once. He turned around the bend and disappeared from my sight.

* * *

 _ **Hello, it is I, Ivanov117!**_

 _ **This chapter is dedicated to the HachiSaki fags (me included).**_

 _ **So, there's ton of cute and sweet moments in this chapter, enough to cause diabeetuss I say.**_

 _ **I'm here already, so I might as well say it…**_

 _ **This IS a Harem, but not every girl is a candidate. I'll leave it to your imagination on who are the "Main Girls" and "Supporting Girls" in this story. Personally, I don't dislike harem anime, but when there's simply too many to choose from, the story tends to get shallow and uninteresting for me.**_

 _ **As the Author of this Fanfic, I just felt like you guys and girls needed to know that, so you can get an idea on the future as well.**_

 _ **Anyway, its been two years since I wrote and posted this story, and I don't see that ending anytime soon. What started as a hobby, became…well still a hobby lol. As long as I am motivated, I'll continue to write to my heart's content, since that is my passion. I was inspired by the more well-known Oregairu fanfics here, (I'm sure you've already read some of them) and I wanted to add my own story here as well.**_

 _ **That's how this all started.**_

 _ **I do hope that this story inspired you to become a writer, or made you interested in writing.**_

 _ **To my fellow Writers, its not too late to update your story XD jk btw.**_

 _ **As always, reviews are quite welcome since your feedback (whether good or bad) is very valuable to me.**_

 _ **I'm uploading a new chapter in a few days, so please look forward to it!**_

 _ **Goodbye!**_


	26. Echoes From Within

**_So here's a new chapter, its short I know but you'll see why._**

 ** _This was supposed to be inserted in the previous chapter, but the atmosphere from the two are vastly different, and I didn't want to ruin it._**

 ** _So yeah, please enjoy!_**

* * *

Good grief.

So noisy.

Good grief.

 _ ***Hikigaya, you said "good grief" twice. ***_

Silence mongrel.

So many people, so much chatter, ugh I'm losing my appetite. I want to eat in the roof but it getting quite warmer lately, I don't want to die of heatstroke. There were more people here than usual, more to my liking honestly.

Last week, we suddenly received a surprising amount of complaints from the student body about the food in the cafeteria. They said that it was bland, too expensive and they wanted more variety, but what they're actually doing is cause more trouble for us. Over the weekend, we had submitted a report to the principal but we still had no reply on the matter. The students complained, but here they are rushing into the lines to get their food. I for one, am quite content with the food that I ordered. Grilled salmon, vegetable salad, curry rice, miso soup, tea and fried chicken and pork cutlet covered with scrambled eggs, all for 1600 Yen! I admit that it's a bit pricey, but it's a good deal in my opinion. Plus, I have more money to spare than I know what to do with, so no one has the right to pull out the _"Huurrr-ddduuurrr-oh-its-too-expensive-you-could-have-eaten-3-meals-with-the-price-of-what-you're-eating-hurr-duurr!"_ card on me!

Jokes aside, I need to eat quite a lot since the medication that I'm taking is quite strong, three of them, to be exact. Also, I wonder what was going on in the mind of whoever decided to add this Super Meal lunch in the menu…? Some sort of glutton perhaps.

A girl wordlessly sat in front of me, carrying a tray of food that she had bought, two sandwiches and some juice, to be exact. Finally, she's here. I was beginning to think that I got the place wrong.

"That's quite a lot you got there, Hikigaya-kun." Through her red half-rimmed glasses, she eyed my lunch with a blank look. Curiously, the look she had right now reminded me of my own. "Hmm." I hummed in reply as I cut a small piece of pork with a knife and dipped in the sauce. I blankly looked at her, expecting her to talk more, but she opened her own food and started eating away as well.

"So…did you bring the _goods?_ " She whispered in a low voice while looking around us, making sure our voices would not reach the other tables.

I gave her an un-amused look and she continued to do the act. "Ebina-san, why are you making this sound like a drug deal…?" At my reply, she rolled her eyes at me and pouted.

"Oh come on, you could have just went along with it. You're no fun Hikigaya-kun." She said and took a bite into her sandwich. The object of interest that she came here for was on the lower part of my body.

And no, it's not what you're thinking about you pervert.

I handed her the manga that was resting on my lap, and she swiped it so fast all I saw was a blur.

"Oi, be careful with that. I went to Akihabara just to get myself a copy on the week that it was released." I say.

"Yes! I've been waiting for this for _ages_! I loved the 1st part of the series, y'know, the one that you recommend and lent to me a few weeks back." She said excitedly and put it in her bag. The reason why Ebina-san is here is just to borrow that manga of mine, she somehow correctly guessed that I had a copy of it and asked if she could borrow mine. A woman's intuition is a terrifying thing.

I continued quietly eating my lunch, intent on finishing it before next period starts. Ebina-san was the same, preferring to eat first and talk later. She finished first and started sipping on her juice.

"Hikigaya-kun, are you part of any clubs right now?"

I shook my head. "I'm too busy to partake in after-school activities. We still have some work to do at the Student Council office after all. Not to mention the incoming graduation of the Third Years…" I say.

"Hoh…" She made a bored nod at my reply.

"The year really went by in a flash huh. I still remember talking to you in that bookstore, and seeing you in the pedestal at the opening ceremony." She reminisced while having a far-away look in here eyes. I couldn't think of a follow up to her statement, and I just nodded and hummed in reply. True, the year is almost coming to a close, three weeks from now the current school year will end, and after the school break, we'll be Second Years. The school principal and owners had already shown us the cost figures of last year's opening ceremony. The rest of the StuCo members were quite shocked. Shiromeguri-senpai turned pale, Chisako-senpai screamed _"Holy shit!"_ and the others were just a mix of the two.

It nearly gave me a heart attack.

Though I do recall our Treasurer nearly fainting…we had to fan Senpai and take him to the infirmary.

That was not a joke.

Needless to say, the opening ceremony last year was too flashy and had many unnecessary costs in it. They decided to cut some corners and just do it in the auditorium or in the gym. I for one, welcome the idea. It lessens the trouble for us who have to work behind the scenes.

"I hear the Japanese Archery Club is recruiting new members, since The Third Years are graduating and all." She shortly added, I arched a brow at what she might be implying.

Archery huh…

"And you're telling me this because…?"

"No reason, I just heard it from my classmates and I thought you'd like to know." She shrugged and emptied her juice. After quickly going to throw away her garbage, she went back to her seat.

"Do I look like an Archer-type to you?" I asked and imagining myself dressed in the style of a Japanese Archer in a competition. Lean arms, a strong and straight back and eyes sharp like a hawk.

She gave me a searching look and narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

"How so?"

"Hmm…I heard that you know Taekwondo, were the fastest runner in your class during P.E., denied an invitation from the Football Club and that you're pretty good in Tennis. So, it's quite obvious that you have a knack in terms of athletics. Oh, and because Archery looks cool and all." She shrugged again while moving her arms as if drawing a bow.

I widened my eyes at how much she knew. How fast does information spread in this school?! How did those people _know_?! Am I being stalked?!

And that was _before_ I got hospitalized. Now I just watch P.E. Class from the sidelines since I'm still not allowed to overexert myself.

"Ugh…what you just said were not _wrong,_ at least. I simply have no time for any clubs…I'm still a below-average pianist…" I mutter the last part under my breath, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Teaching yourself how to play a piano was more difficult than I expected…

"If it helps, I'll throw in a club recruitment campaign event recommendation to Shiromeguri-senpai once the new school year starts. There's no guarantee if it'll be passed though. But you and you friends have to manage it" I say.

She shook her head. "No, you don't need to do that Hikigaya-kun, it'll just cause more trouble for you. And I just wanted to let you know just in case you were interested, that's all."

"The only club that I'd be interested joining is the Gaming Club, well, if it existed anyway." I jokingly said, and she looked amused from my reply.

"Now that I think about it, you're too cool for Archery, you'll probably ace it in no time!" She laughed at her own joke and the small smile that I had on my lips, instantly disappeared.

She didn't see it because she was being called by one of her classmates. "I gotta go Hikigaya-kun! I'll give this back to you in a few days!" With that, she excused herself with my manga in-hand. I gave her a small wave as she went to her classmates. I watched her back for a bit before I started spacing out. The voices was slowly drowned out by a ringing in my ears, until I heard nothing. My vision blurred, the people around me turning to ghostly apparitions moving in slow motion.

What she said really bothered me. Not just those she uttered, but by those around me as well. Ever since the start of the 1st semester here at school, words that I shouldn't be bothered by, and yet…

They _do_. They bother me more than I believe, and it scares me.

" _He's the Perfect Student!"_

" _Even though he's a bit serious, he's really cool!"_

" _He gets perfect scores without breaking a sweat!"_

" _He's even part of the Student Council, what a guy!"_

" _He's quite athletic too!"_

" _I wish I was like him!"_

" _His Dad's also a pretty big businessman from what I hear!"_

" _He has the perfect life!"_

Those were the words that the populace defined me as. I don't blame them, no. For it was my actions that they based their definition of me. My actions alone. Actions that I continue to question to this day. I _know_ that everything that I'm doing is for myself, but at the same time, my gut says otherwise. Its been eating away at me from my core.

Why am I doing this?

Shallow words and empty praises, that's all they were. I don't feel anything when I hear them. Embarrassment? Maybe, but that only happened a few times. It quickly lost its effect on me after a while.

Pride? I don't know. Can you feel proud about doing something exceptionally well, yet it goes against everything that you believe in? Can you feel proud knowing that with every praise that you hear, you are reminded of your own dishonesty? Can you feel proud being praised, yet a voice from the deepest part of your mind reminds you of your own inferiority? I don't know anymore. I don't have the answers right now, nor do I foresee it coming to me in the near future.

…

…

…

But on the inside, I still feel the same as before.

A _loser, gross, creep, disgusting, ugly, unsightly, a loner with no friends…_

It seems nothing has changed at all. I am confused as to what I've been doing up to now.

Was the goal that I set for myself actually shallow and meaningless...? Was everything for naught...?

I dislike liars, but I can't bring myself to hate them, if I knew what the lie was and under what circumstances it was made of course. An example would be a liar forced to create a white lie. They exist for a reason, to preserve something that is deemed worth existing, be it a shallow friendship, or a thinly-veiled carefully made persona to show the world.

I dislike liars.

But now that I think about it…

The biggest liar of all…

Is me.


End file.
